Peace of my Mind
by Laume
Summary: Snape is in Azkaban, trying not to loose his mind. Harry is trying to prove his innocence. Dumbledore tries to get a grip. The author tries to write a decent story. Who will succeed?
1. Chapter 1

A/N I've read some 'Harry/Severus/whoever is thrown into Azkaban' stories lately, but the ones I liked best aren't finished - _glares at LAXgirl and Marietsy- _so I figured that to ease the waiting, I might as well write one myself. It's probably gonna be lousy, since I like the extravagant display of power in these stories. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Azkaban 

"Note to self: If I ever get out of here, write a book on how Occlumency works against Dementors. Perhaps more of the little dunderheads would bother to learn it then."

He paced the small cell where he had spent the past three and a half years and shivered. His once black robes were greyish/brown now with dirt, and his shoes…well…he preferred to ignore their condition. The Dementors left him alone now, when they discovered he had adapted his shields to keep them out. Still, it was maddening, this confined space, with only his own thoughts to occupy him.

No, mustn't think his own thoughts. It would hurt. Especially if he'd remember…

SHIT! Too late.

The memories flooded over him.

"ALBUS!" he cried out in despair before he threw himself on the mattress in the corner, shaking uncontrollably.

Elsewhere, far away, in a castle somewhere in Scotland 

The old Headmaster sat behind his desk, trying to concentrate on the paperwork.

"I can't concentrate," he said softly to himself, "I haven't been able to concentrate since…"

His eyes filled with tears. It was too painful, even after three years.

It had been Moody, naturally, who had brought in the reports of the raid. They were very clear and to the point. Twenty muggles and three wizards had seen the Death Eaters descend upon the village. They all described the one in charge as tall, thin, and with a silky voice. At one point his mask had fallen back and one of the wizards had recognized Severus Snape.

The muggles and other two had merely described him as 'Satan himself, with long, greasy black hair and a large nose. Pale skin. He laughed as his friends murdered, taunted his own victims in that icy, silky voice before ripping them apart with either his magic stick (as the muggles described it) or his bare hands.'

The Aurors had been on the spot quickly, as well as the Order. In the fight that followed, Molly Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt and three other Aurors had died. Snape had escaped.

They had arrested him in his dungeons at Hogwarts, where he had, unbelievably, returned after the raid. There had been no need for a trial, the evidence was clear. He was thrown into Azkaban, and only Harry's interference, and insistence that he might one day be useful for information, had saved him from the Dementors Kiss.

Oddly enough, it had also been Harry who had raged at Dumbledore for hours, insisting that he demand a trial, that Veritaserum be used, that he employed his Legimency skills to search Snapes mind.

They had discarded the boy's requests, of course, and told him to worry about his training instead of a traitor.

He knew that Harry had gone to Azkaban to visit Snape once, a month after his arrest. The boy had never spoken of the man afterwards, and he suspected the visit had convinced Harry of the Potion Masters guilt.

Azkaban 

It took him a long while this time to calm himself. Over an hour of digging through memories until he found the one that could protect him from his own thoughts.

Funny, how the boy that considered him his enemy was now his only ally. He kept the memory as close as possible these days, but when his thoughts overwhelmed him, it took him a while to find it.

He had been in Azkaban a month, and had just started to learn to shield his mind from the Dementors, when one of the human guards approached.

"_You have a visitor, traitor. He will most likely kill you, like you deserve. So I let him keep his wand to make it easier for him."_

_Harry had entered, and Snape knew for sure he was finished. He nodded to the boy._

"_I'm ready, Potter. I know you will not think me worthy of any…favors…but I hope you will make it quick."_

_He had closed his eyes and waited for the curses to rip his body apart, but none came. Instead, Harry had looked around the bare cell, and transfigured a mattress, a small table and two chairs from some of the rubble laying around._

"_Sit down, Severus. I'm not here to kill you."_

_He opened his eyes in surprise. Cautiously he walked towards the table. Harry pulled out a flask. _

"_Pumpkin juice. Since Azkaban is not known for its haute cuisine, I thought I'd bring you some."_

_Warily he accepted the flask, and drunk greedily. It had been two days since they had brought any food and water, and he was thirsty._

_Harry sighed and waved his wand again, this time transfiguring his handkerchief into a blanket._

"_I thought the Ministry would at least provide prisoners with the basics," he said, disgusted._

_Snape finished the last drop of juice and nodded._

"_They usually do. I'm the exception. Why are you here, Potter? And more to the point, why are you being…Merlin forbid…kind?"_

_Harry looked at him. "You didn't do it."_

"_I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to have done, they never told me."_

_Harry's eyes widened and he handed him a file. Snape read it and grew pale._

"_That wasn't me! It wasn't!"_

_The boy frowned. "Molly Weasley died that day. Did you hate Molly?"_

_Snape's jaw dropped. "I could never hate Molly Weasley. She was very kind to me, in Grimmauld place…is she…is she really gone?" He hated how pathetic that sounded._

_Harry grimaced and wiped angrily at a tear that ran down his cheek. "Yes, she is. I don't believe you did any of this, Severus, and I came to tell you that. I've been telling Dumbledore and Hermione and anyone who was within my reach, but they don't listen to me, as usual. But I swear to you, I will find out who framed you, if it's the last thing I do. I'll get you out of here."_

_He had stared at the boy in shocked disbelief. "You? YOU, of all people, believe me to be innocent?"_

_Harry suddenly blushed. "I believed it before. Now I know for sure. There was Veritaserum in the juice."_

_Snape snorted suddenly. "How very Slytherin of you."_

_The Boy Who Lived grinned. "I was supposed to be in Slytherin. I chose Gryffindor instead, because I had just met Malfoy and didn't want to be in the same House. I think it's time I started appreciating my Slytherin side."_

_He stood up to leave._

"_Thank you for coming…Harry." Snape said, hesitant. "Even if you can't prove my innocence, I'm glad at least someone believes me."_

_Harry smiled at him. "Try not to go insane, Severus. It might take a while, and I don't want my efforts to have been in vain! You better work on keeping your own mind."_

_Snape glanced at the door and leaned closer to the boy. "Don't tell anyone, but I've been trying something that might just work." _

_Harry left determined, leaving a slightly relieved Snape behind._

Three years had past since then. Snape had never really believed Harry could help him, but the memory of the boy helped him keep his mind.

If only Albus had been like that. The man he had considered his father threw him in this place without a second thought. Without even a word. Without even looking at him.

He buried his head in the blanket that had thinned considerably over the course of three years, and willed himself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N **And yet again, I forgot to put up the signs over the first chapter.**

_Snape pauses in the middle of his traumatic recollections and nods._

**Well sorry. Here: **

**DISCLAIMER: It all belongs to JK Rowling.**

**Points at herself: me not JK Rowling.**

Snape rolls his eyes 

**Quiet, you, or I'm summoning a Dementor. Oh yeah, this story is, of course, completely AU, but from Dumbledore's appearance in the first chapter, anyone should have guessed.**

_Snape nods in agreement._

Snape woke in the middle of the night. He sighed.

"It is time," he said to himself, "I can't stay sane any longer, no matter what I promised Harry."

He smiled wryly. Having fits like last night was not all he had ever done in Azkaban. To occupy his mind he had started to recollect his favorite poems and books. He had recited endless potions recipes. And he had discovered a very rare power.

He was a True Animagus.

The Animagus power had been diluted over the centuries, and while Animagi were rare, True Animagi were virtually non existent these days. True Animagi were not limited to just one animal they could transform in; they transformed into any animal.

Until now he had not considered escape. He had waited, not for Harry, but for Dumbledore. Hoping against hope that the old man would come to see him, come to ask him what had happened when the first shock of the attack had worn off. But Dumbledore never came, and he had given up hope that he would. He sat down and ate the gruel one of the guards had put in his cell. If he was to escape, he'd need his strength.

Hogwarts 

Dumbledore was about to retire for the night when he heard noises. Lots and lots of noises. He sensed Harry in front of the Gargoyle, but he was clearly not alone.

The door opened and Harry entered, dragging a body behind him. Minerva McGonagall followed him.

"Here, Headmaster," Harry spat out, "this worthless piece of shit has some information. I trust you will actually listen this time."

Dumbledore sighed. Harry had refused to be anything but formal towards him since the day he had brushed the boy's requests aside. Harry didn't trust him anymore. He had to admit, though, that the boy had grown up. The skinny, pale youth had grown into a tanned, slender, but muscular man. The summer after Snapes arrest Harry had point blank refused to go back to the Dursleys. He had sent them a note to say he would never come back, and if anyone tried to force them into taking him in they should refuse. Harry, Dumbledore realized, had become an independent adult.

A year after Severus' arrest Harry had graduated, but he had refused the formal Auror training Dumbledore had arranged for him. He instead had gone to Gringotts, got all information on his accounts, and bought a mansion in a quiet part of the country. There he trained. And from there had he carried out his Order missions, and, Dumbledore was sure, his own missions as well. Like this one.

He focused on the man in front of him.

"Lucius!"

Harry smiled grimly. "Yes, Lucius. It took me six months to find out he was the man I was after, and over two years more to actually get my hands on him. But now I do, don't I, Lucius?"

The man sneered. "You can't defeat the Dark Lord, Potter."

Harry sighed. "We'll see about that. Meanwhile, why don't you tell Dumbledore what you told me, the other night, and I might just reconsider killing you."

Malfoy shuddered. "The Dark Lord found out Snape was a spy. He wanted to kill him, but then he thought of a better punishment. He framed him. I took Polyjuice and pretended to be Snape. We attacked the village and killed everyone in sight. I made sure people saw me…as Snape. It worked. The Dark Lord was quite pleased with me, and gave me a place of honor as one of his lieutenants. Even if he was very angry that you prevented the Kiss."

His eyes flashed. "And the Dark Lord will come for me! He will hunt you down if you kill me, Potter!"

Harry clicked his tongue in exasperation. "He is already hunting me down, whether I kill you or not, Lucius. But then again, I did promise, didn't I? So instead of killing you, I'll just hand you to your son. I'm sure Draco will be delighted to see you."

He thrust the chains that kept Lucius bound towards McGonagall. "Take him to the Aurors office and make sure you hand him over to Draco."

The witch obeyed immediately and left. Harry turned to an ashen faced Dumbledore.

"I suppose you are willing to listen to me now. Too little, too late. Get Severus out of that hellhole NOW!"

Dumbledore shook all over as he made the necessary arrangements. It was nearly dawn when Harry and Dumbledore reached Azkaban to fulfill Harry's promise.

Azkaban 

Dawn. Time to leave. Dementors weren't at their best in the sun, and it was early enough for the human guards to be still sleepy. He focused and transformed into a mouse. He had once been a black mouse, but with the demise of his clothes his fur had faded to a brown/grey as well. Nevermind. It would do very well for the occasion.

Just as he slipped out of his cell and ran along the dark corridor, he heard voices. He hid in a small alcove in the wall.

"Honestly, Sirs, I don't know why you bother. It's not like he can be sane after three years in here."

An angry voice answered. He knew that voice. Harry!

Then another voice. A-Albus? Albus had come…? His instincts were to transform back to his human form, but his rational mind kept him from it. For all he knew Harry had given up on him and they were here to have the Kiss performed after all.

He quickly followed them, close enough to hear their conversation.

"It's my fault," he heard Albus say, desperate.

"Yes," Harry's voice agreed, harshly.

"Harry, my boy…"

"Do not call me that, Headmaster! Do you think I don't know you called Severus that once, too? Do you think I will let you hurt me like you hurt him? Let me tell you something, Headmaster. That man would have died for you. He would probably still die for you. If you use your power over him to force him to forgive you, I will hurt you just as much as you hurt him. Are we clear on that?"

He couldn't help but grin. Harry had truly embraced his Slytherin side, then.

"He will stay with me, of course…" Dumbledore said, voice trailing off in tears.

"No, headmaster. I will take him to my mansion."

Harry had a mansion? Interesting…

He turned and slipped away, through the gates until he reached the water. There, he transformed again and swam towards the other shore.

Azkaban 

The cell was empty. All three looked at the room, dumbstruck. Harry recovered first, smiling to himself, but didn't say anything. The guard panicked.

"This can't be true! He can't have escaped! We brought his gruel in last evening and he was here, having one of his fits!"

Dumbledore collapsed on one of the chairs. "Severus…" he whispered.

Harry's Mansion, the following night 

Harry was awoken from his sleep by the wards going off. He grabbed his wand from under his pillow, jumped out of bed and rushed out.

He looked around until he saw a glass cage in the middle of the lawn. He grinned.

"Well, well, what do we have here," he said, pointing his wand at the scrawny black cat that paced frantically in the cage, looking for a way out.

"You seem to have set off my Animagus wards. Now, the question is, will you transform yourself or do I have to do it for you?"

The cat looked at him and immediately transformed. Harry gasped, but then a smile broke through on his face.

"Hello, Severus."

He was just in time to catch the man when he collapsed.

Snape woke up to bright sunlight. He looked around and noticed he was laying in a soft, kingsized bed, in clean pyjamas. The room was painted in white and silver, with hints of green and large windows overlooked a lake.

A house elf appeared.

"Professor Snape is awake! Dobby will fetch Harry Potter immediately!"

The house elf snapped his fingers and Harry appeared in the room.

"You…you let your elves summon you?" Snape managed, hoarsely.

Harry took a glass of water from the bedside table and helped him drink.

"No. They just let me know I am needed and I apparate to them if I think I should. How are you feeling? Dobby, could you do me a favour and bring up some light soup for Professor Snape? Mix some of the nutrient potions I keep in my private stores in it."

"Not your professor anymore, Harry," the man smiled slightly.

"I see you kept your promise of staying sane," Harry retorted, a wide grin, "But you needn't have escaped, you know. We came to get you yesterday."

"I know. I followed you back to my cell. But I didn't want to transform in front of Dumbledore, so when I heard you mention your mansion I decided I'd just go there. Used floo, but it only got me as far as the tiny house a mile down the road."

"Yes, that is the nearest floo connection. That is also where my wards begin. You're lucky the Animagus ward doesn't extend that far or it'd have taken me hours to find you."

"Am I really free, Harry? They won't hunt me down?"

Harry shook his head. "Not hunt you down, no. Search for you, that they do. Dumbledore has half the Ministry looking for you, and the entire Order."

Dobby reappeared, carrying a tray with a bowl of soup and some crackers.

"Eat something. You never were too heavy, but now you've reached nearly skeletal proportions. Dobby, we will have to feed him up and spoil him."

The elf bounced excitedly. "Oh yes, Harry, Dobby will take care of the professor!"

Harry laughed when Snape groaned.

Later, Harry got some of his own robes for Snape to wear. They were too short and too wide, but some deft wand work fixed that easily. Dobby brought in a tall glass of milk, laced with more nutrient potion.

"He'll bring you something to eat or drink every two hours," Harry said, "and he won't accept any refusal."

Snape nodded and drank some milk. Then he sighed.

"Harry…I escaped because I felt I couldn't stay sane much longer, not because I didn't believe you, honestly…"

"I know. If you want to know, it was Lucius. Polyjuice potion."

Snape clenched his fists "Where is he now?"

Harry grinned evilly. "I let Draco have him."

Snape looked up in surprise. "Draco?"

"Yes. Draco came to me shortly after you were thrown into Azkaban and told me his father insisted on him getting the Mark. He didn't want to. It took a while for us to trust him, but in the end we did. He is an Auror now. Lucius killed Pansy Parkinson. I never thought much of her, but she was Draco's friend. I almost feel sorry for Lucius now that Draco has him."

Snape nodded. "Yes, I remember they were friends. What about your friends, Harry?"

Harry grimaced. "We keep in touch. Ron and Hermione married the summer after we graduated. They have baby girl, two months old now. They named her Molly. We…don't see each other as much as we used to. We've grown somewhat apart."

"I'm sorry. I hope I didn't…"

"Only partially. Our disagreements over you of course didn't help. But it would have happened anyway. I had to train and focus on getting you out and defeating Voldemort, and their priority is their family now. I do visit. I'm Molly's godfather after all. She does really look remarkably like her grandmother…the same temper, too."

They both smiled, lost in their memories of the caring, brave Weasley matriarch, whose temper could even make Dumbledore shudder.

"Harry?"

"Yes, Severus?"

"Is there…I mean…do I have somewhere to go to? Did the Ministry…"

Harry sighed. "Yes, Severus, they took it all. I managed to salvage a few personal items from Hogwarts, but your own house, your money, they took it. They gave it to the Order."

"Oh." Severus sat very still for a while. "It went to a good cause, then, at least. But…"

A hand on his shoulder stopped him. "You'll stay here. I had planned to bring you here anyway. And I've set up a vault in your name two years ago. There's some money in it, only a fraction of what should be yours…"

"How?" Severus asked, confused.

"Whenever I ask the Order for money for expenses made on missions, I add another ten percent or so, which goes to your vault. Basically, I'm stealing back your money."

Severus stared at him, then burst out laughing.

"Harry, when you said you were going to embrace your Slytherin side I never realized how big that Slytherin side really is."

Harry grinned happily. "Well, I am the Boy Who Lived, and a Gryffindor, so no one suspects me of being…creative with my bills. There's about 10000 galleons in there now. And tomorrow I'm going to make Dumbledore give you your house back."

"It hasn't been sold, then?"

"Oh, yes it has. To me, although they don't know that. I used another name. I could give it back to you right away, and I will, but I want Dumbledore to buy it back from me to give it to you. That way we will also get back a good deal of your money."

The following day, at the Order meeting 

"Silence, please."

The Order members slowly quieted and looked at their leader expectantly.

"First off, yes, what you read in the Prophet was correct. Severus Snape is indeed innocent. He also escaped, merely hours before we could get him out. It was Lucius Malfoy who committed those crimes, disguised as Severus."

Ron and Hermione glanced guiltily at Harry.

"Do we know where he is, Albus?" Minerva McGonagall asked.

"No. We don't even know how he escaped."

"Maybe he's an Animagus, like Siri…" Ron trailed off, seeing Harry's face.

"Severus is no Animagus," Dumbledore said, "I would have known. It is a mystery, but the fact remains that he is innocent. While everyone is looking for him, it is merely to bring him back here so he can be cared for, not to harm him."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, sure. And what does he have to come back to? You've taken everything from him. He doesn't even have a house to live in anymore."

Dumbledore blushed. "I'm sure arrangements…"

Harry broke in angrily. "I think he'd rather sleep on the streets of Knockturn Alley then living with YOU, headmaster. I suggest you give him back his house, and put the notice in the Daily Prophet so that he can return there."

He saw the twinkle return in Dumbledore's eyes. Clearly the old man thought that if Severus came to his old house, he would be able to talk to him.

"I would, Harry, but the house is sold."

"Then buy it back. With the money you also took from him you should be able to. He'd be paying for his own house, essentially, but I suppose its better then nothing."

"Very well, I'll contact the owner. I can give no reassurances though."

Harry nodded curtly and stood up to leave.

"Where are you going? We're not done yet."

"Yes we are. I'm tired. Tracking down Lucius took a lot of energy. I won't be going on any missions for a while."

Draco smirked. He and Harry had resolved their differences and developed something akin to friendship over the past years. Harry looked at him, and Draco knew he should follow suit.

"I agree with Harry. Talking with my Daddy was tiring," he grinned evilly, "I just came to hear if there was any news about Severus, but since there is not, I'm off."

They left the insulted group at the table and walked towards Hogsmeade.

"So, Draco, what did you do to Lucius?"

The blonde smirked. "Do you really want to know?"

Harry shuddered. "Guess not."

The Slytherin laughed. "Nothing permanent, Harry. Just extremely painful."

"Too bad. Anyway, you're coming to my mansion now."

"Good, I look forward to seeing Severus again."

He laughed at the astonished look on the other's face.

"Come on, Harry, you're the only person Severus would go to. And being in the Ministry so often I happen to know that the person whose name is on the papers for Severus' home is not the person who actually paid for it…"

"Merlin, Draco, must you be so smart?"

"I can't help it, I was born that way. But don't worry, I won't say a thing. Besides, you planned to tell me anyway, so what's the harm?"


	3. Chapter 3

Harry's Manor 

"You know, I'm glad you readjusted the wards so I can apparate to your house too. Having to walk was really annoying."

"It's only a mile, and I keep brooms in there! You never had to walk!"

"Still…Merlin, Dobby, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry Draco." The house elf said, not looking at all apologetic.

"How is he, Dobby?"

"Dobby is wondering, should he wake professor Snape for his snack? Dobby lets him sleep so far…"

Harry smiled. "Where is he?"

"Livingroom. Fell asleep on the lounge looking out the window."

"Tell you what, we're going there anyway. We're pretty hungry too, we had a really annoying Order meeting. Can we have some snacks too?"

"Of course, Dobby will bring foods and drinks. Does you be wanting butterbeer?"

"For us, yes. Tea or juice for professor Snape."

"Feeding him up then, are you?" Draco said, smiling.

Harry turned to him with a serious expression.

"Draco, he spent three years in there. While he managed to stay sane, his body has suffered. Don't be too alarmed when you see him, he's pretty thin."

They entered the livingroom to see Severus curled up on the lounge. He was so thin the wide, comfy chair could have fitted three of his size with room to spare. Draco stared at the frail figure with tears in his eyes.

Harry smiled and gently touched a shoulder.

"Severus? Wake up. Time to eat something and say hello to Draco."

The Potions Master's eyes snapped open.

"Easy, Severus, you're safe."

The man blinked, and focused on Harry's face. "Not Azkaban?"

"No, you escaped, remember? You came to my house."

Severus sighed. "Oh yes, I remember." Then he noticed Draco.

"Hello, Draco," he said, smiling slightly, "I heard what you've done for the Order over the past years. I'm so proud of you."

Draco knelt next to the chair and took his old Head of House's hand in his, careful not to squeeze too hard.

"I missed you, sir. I'm so sorry."

Severus stroked his head. "Hush, child. Harry told me you doubted my guilt but I can imagine you didn't want to believe your father capable of something like that."

Draco shuddered. "When he killed Pansy, I was sure. I started to give Harry any information I could."

Harry smiled and left them to talk while he relieved the owl that had just flown in from its burden. He grinned when he saw his fake name on it. Opening it, he burst out laughing. The other two turned to him.

"What's so funny?" Draco said.

Harry snickered. "Listen to this.

_Dear Mr Jones,_

_Some years ago you purchased the Snape Mansion from us. As you may have read, it has now come to our attention that Severus Snape was innocent of the charges on which he was sentenced to Azkaban._

Sentenced indeed! There was never even a trial. But it goes on.

_This means his estate was wrongfully confiscated. Since all of this is not your fault, we do not wish for you to loose money over this, but we do want to buy back Snape Mansion. We offer to buy it back for the sum you paid for it, plus 10 for your inconvenience. _

_Please let us know by return owl if this is agreeable to you._

_With all due respect,_

_Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."_

Harry took out a quill and parchment.

"What are you going to respond, Harry?" Severus asked.

Quill scratching over the parchment, Harry answered. "It is obvious he wants the house desperately. First because it would look bad on him if he didn't, and second because he thinks you will return there, and will be within his reach again. So I can easily demand more money.

Here.

_Headmaster Dumbledore,_

_I received your communication today concerning Snape Mansion. I must admit I am not inclined to sell it. Your offer seems a bargaining price to me, and you will have to do a good deal better for me to part with the place. _

_I have grown attached to the mansion, and although I feel sorry for mr Snape, I am sure with the money you also admit to owing him, he can find temporary quarters until you and I reach an agreement. As you seem to be in a hurry to acquire the place, however, I will be lenient. I will sell it back to you for twice the original sum_."

Draco snorted. "Wicked, Harry. Not only are you milking him for all he's worth, you're also making him feel guilty for keeping Sev's money. You are so Slytherin."

Harry beamed. "I am, aren't I? He is trying to manipulate mr Jones into feeling sorry for Severus and taking the first offer. I'm just letting him know he's wrong about that."

They looked fondly at the figure on the lounge, who had been forcefed some fruit by Dobby and then fallen asleep again.

"Will he recover?" Draco asked anxiously.

Harry nodded reassuringly. "Certainly. He is weak now, but a few weeks of good food and plenty of rest will work wonders, I assure you. Would you do me a favour, Draco, and stay with him for a while so I can go to Diagon Alley to pick up some things for him?"

Draco nodded eagerly. "But won't people be suspicious when they see you purchasing things that are clearly for Severus?"

Harry smiled. "Oh, don't worry. I have a potions lab here. It's not surprising if I pick up ingredients. And the bookstore treats me like royalty; if I want my purchases to remain a secret, no one will ever find out. And Madam Malkins, well I'll just buy robes my size and ask Dobby to fit them for Severus."

He tied the note to Dumbledore to the owl's leg and gave it some owl treats. "Back to Hogwarts with you," he said, stroking its head while he carried it outside. The owl hooted gratefully and flew off.

"I'll be back in an hour or two," he said to Draco before flooing to the Leaky Cauldron.

He visited Gringotts and took money from his own vault. Then he headed to Madam Malkins and bought a few black robes his own size, as well as boots and other necessary clothes items. He also purchased dragon hide gloves and a lab coat, and had them all delivered to his house. The same with the cauldron and extra ingredients he ordered.

The bookstore opened the door to him excitedly. "Welcome, mr Potter, welcome. What can we do for you today?"

"There was a small accident in my library, I'm afraid. A few shelves of books have been damaged, most beyond repair. Quite embarrassing, really."

"How so, Mr Potter?"

"Surely you've read about Snapes innocence? I've been trying to convince the Headmaster of it for years. When I finally found the proof, I'm afraid I could only hold my temper so long. When I got home I had an…hmmm…accidental magic incident in my library."

The man laughed. "Understandable, Mr Potter. Which books do you need to replace?"

"Most of my potions shelf, unfortunately. Some Defense books. I've made a list. Have Gringotts take the money straight from my vault, and have the books delivered to my house, will you?"

The man glanced at the rather long list and noticed several expensive volumes.

"Certainly, mr Potter. They will arrive at your mansion today, or tomorrow morning latest."

"That is fine, thank you. Now, I also wanted to purchase some lighter reading. With Lucius Malfoy in custody I finally have some free time on my hands. I'll take those immediately. Anything you can recommend?"

A while later he walked out of the store, shrunken books in his pockets.

"Magical Menagerie…hmmm…Severus will need an owl," he thought, "or perhaps some other pet."

As he entered the store and started looking at the animals, he suddenly felt two hands on his shoulders.

"Hello Harry," the Weasley twins chorused.

"Hey guys. What are you doing here?"

"Well, you know we are still inventing…

"…and we test our inventions on mice, usually."

"This time we invented a bonbon that increases your intelligence temporarily…"

"…and fed them to the mice. Unfortunately…"

"…they grew so intelligent that they managed to work together, open the cage and flee."

"So now we need new ones," they explained, grinning widely.

Then they sobered.

"Harry…will you please let Snape know we are sorry?"

Harry frowned. "What makes you think I know where he is?"

The twins grinned. "You know us, Harry. You've been purchasing a lot more then is reasonable, considering you don't need a new wardrobe or a new pet."

Harry sighed. "You know he is innocent, don't you?"

The twins nodded, and lowered their eyes. "We've always had our doubts. He and Mom got along so well. For Snape, that is. But…well….the evidence seemed so overwhelming, and we weren't in the mood to question it…Please Harry, tell him we're very sorry, will you?"

Harry nodded. "But don't tell anyone where he is, ok? Especially not Dumbledore. He will confront the world again when he is ready, I don't want to force him into anything."

The twins nodded, and left the store with their new supply of mice.

Harry walked over to the owl section.

"Looking for a new owl, Harry?" he heard the voice of his second godfather behind him.

"Hi Remus. Just browsing, really. I don't think Hedwig would forgive me if I bought a new owl. But she is getting on in years and not up to the frequent long journeys to Ginny anymore."

The werewolf grinned. "So you still correspond with her?"

"Naturally. We always did. We write at least once a week."

Remus sighed whistfully. "I had hoped so much that you and Ginny would end up together."

Harry smiled. "Who knows, in the future…but not now. We're still very good friends though, but with everything going on with Voldemort, I just don't want to risk marriage."

His godfather nodded. "You're probably right. I know your mum would've loved grandkids, though…"

Harry snorted. "For some reason, I think you wouldn't mind either, Moony," he teased.

The werewolf blushed furiously.

"You know I can't risk having children, Harry, so my only chance of being a grandfather is standing right in front of me."

Harry smiled and gave his godfather a quick one-armed hug. "Someday, Moony. We're both young enough still. Say hello to Tonks for me."

Remus returned the hug. "I will. See you later, Prongslet."

"Why is it that on the one day I don't want to meet anyone, everyone seems to insist on shopping…?" Harry mumbled. He looked up into the eyes of a beautiful owl.

It was black, but not completely. The silver streaks contrasted marvellously with the green eyes.

"A true Slytherin bird," Harry thought, amused. He smiled at the owl.

"Would you mind coming with me?" he asked it, "I'm here to find a companion for a friend of mine, and I think he is one of the few who would truly appreciate such a fine owl as yourself."

The owl flew off its perch and landed in a very dignified manner on Harry's shoulder.

He went to find the owner, who was reading Witch Weekly behind the counter.

"Good afternoon," Harry said pleasantly, "I wish to purchase this owl."

The lady looked up and gasped. "That? You want to buy THAT bird? Thank Merlin, I thought I'd never be rid of it."

Harry frowned. "Now that is not a nice thing to say," he commented. "Clearly you do not appreciate true beauty when you see it. Since you want to be rid of it, shall I just take it?"

The witch waved her hand. "Yes, yes, take it, please! Just promise you won't return it."

Harry turned and walked out of the shop. "Honestly, what did you do to her?"

The owl gave him a glare that reminded Harry of Severus before he had gone to Azkaban. He laughed. That look hadn't intimidated him in Severus and it certainly didn't intimidate him in this owl.

"He'll love you," he said confidently. The owl hooted and stuck up its nose…well…beak.

Harry apparated back to his home to find Draco and Severus at the chessboard. Severus was trying to recall the finer points of the game, and was pleased at how well he was doing, considering he hadn't played in such a long time.

"Hey Harry," Draco said, "wow, look at the gorgeous owl, Severus!"

The owl puffed up his chest in pride and Severus laughed. "He is indeed, Draco. Why did you buy him, Harry, Hedwig won't be pleased, you know."

Harry smiled. "He is for you. You need an owl now. I thought you'd be able to appreciate this one."

Severus' eyes widened. "For me? Really?"

He reached out and stroked the owl, who closed his eyes in contentment.

He sighed. "I'm sorry I can't carry you yet. I will name you Pothos, is that ok with you?"

The owl looked at him for a while, then hooted his approval.

Harry smiled sadly.

"Is there an answer from Dumbledore yet?"

Draco pointed to an envelop on the table. Harry opened it and grinned.

"_Mr Jones,_

_Yes, we are in a hurry to purchase the mansion. While I find it reprehensible that you try to benefit to this extend from our desire to provide Severus Snape with his rightful home once again, we agree to your price. Let us know by return owl what vault you wish the money to be deposited in and when the mansion will be available._

_Albus Dumbledore._

So, you got your home back and a substantial amount of your money as well, Severus."

Harry took up his quill again while Severus smiled happily, stroking the owl that had perched on the arm of the lounge.

"_Headmaster,_

_Glad to hear you agree. While you might find my actions reprehensible, they are not nearly as bad as your failure to provide Mr Snape with a trial, and your subsequent selling of his possessions. _

_You may deposit the money in vault number 2063. The mansion will be available to Mr. Snape immediately after I receive word that the money has been added to my vault. That would be tomorrow, if you deposit the correct sum immediately upon receiving this missive. _

_The wards on the mansion have remained intact, and will recognize him and me, but no one else. I will, of course, remove the wards that allow me entrance to his estate_.

That is a lie, of course, but he doesn't need to know that," said Harry while he sent the note off.

Draco grinned. "I'm going to like hanging out with you guys," he said.

_A/N Pothos is a greek deity, and his name means yearning. Plato explains the difference between Himerus (longing) and Pothos in that Himerus longs for something that is present, and Pothos for something which is seemingly unattainable. _

At some point the confrontation between Severus and the Headmaster will take place, but I;m sure you agree he is no shape for that yet!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N

**Loralee1**: thanks for your whole list of reviews LOL Came back from biblestudy tonight to find a whole list of review alerts. Nice to come home to, I'll tell you. Glad you like this one, it's a bit of a gamble for me, this idea. I just liked the Harry in Azkaban stories and thought I'd give it a try.

**Websurffer**: LOLOL yes I DO know what I'm talking about, surprisingly. I'm not talking about one of the three Musketeers, I'm talking about Greek mythology here. But if you want to call him Porthos, feel free to do so.

**Coldfiredragon**: I wrote three chapters in one day! What more can anyone ask of me! LOL I'm glad you like it though

Draco returned to the chessboard, trying to figure out what move to make next. Harry emptied his pockets of the shrunken books and enlarged them to their original size. Severus picked one up.

"I've ordered some books for you as well," Harry said casually, "They should be in later today or else tomorrow morning. I thought you might like to read up on your potions again."

Severus nodded, pleased.

"Thank you, I've missed brewing. It'll be nice to have access to potions again, if only in books. I hope they're here soon. You did take the money out of my vault, didn't you?"

Harry ignored the question. "I have all those books too, if you want to read them. I also have a potions lab, but I'm not going to let you in there until you are much stronger. If you are a good boy and listen to Dobby, I might give you free reign in the lab next week," he teased.

He was rewarded with a much missed scowl.

"Harry should be nice to Professor Snape," Dobby scolded, having entered the room quietly to set up the dinner table, "professor Snape is recovering!"

"There!" the Potions Master said, a slight triumphant sneer on his face, "You hear that? Be nice to me and let me into your potions lab."

Dobby turned around so quickly that he nearly broke a plate.

"Professor Snape is not going to the Potions Lab! Harry is right in not letting him!" the elf nearly growled.

Harry and Draco burst out laughing. "I promised him that if he eats and rests well, he can use the lab next week, Dobby. Make sure he doesn't sneak in there before then," Harry said, before taking pity on the poor Potions Master.

He gently patted his arm. "It's not that I don't want you to have fun, Severus, but it could be dangerous, you know that."

His ex professor sighed tiredly. "Yes, you are right. It's just that…I want my life back."

Harry led him to a chair. "Your life will never be the same again, Severus. You will have to accept that. But we will help you to build up a new life for yourself, and we'd love to be part of it. Not as enemies this time, but as friends. And as your friends, we don't want to let you do anything that might endanger you. Besides, after three years, you can surely wait one more week?"

"Nearly two," the potions master sulked decidedly, "and I've waited three years for it. You don't really soften the blow either, do you?"

Harry smiled. "Would you want me to, Severus? Do you want me to tell you everything will be alright, and you will go on like nothing ever happened? That is a lie, and we both know it. I would be insulting your intelligence by even suggesting it."

Severus stared at his plate angrily before running his hand over his face.

"You're right, Harry. I'll be good and wait, ok?" he sneered slightly, but there was no malice behind it.

"Good," Dobby appeared at his knee, "now eat!"

He had brought up grilled chicken, vegetables and mashed potatoes for Harry and Draco, and a thin gruel with some crackers for Severus, who shuddered.

"I've had enough gruel to last me a lifetime," he complained, eyeing the boy's dinner enviously. "Can I have some chicken?"

Harry shrugged. "If you feel you are up for it." He selected some of the tender bits and put them on Severus' plate, who discarded the gruel and put the chicken on the crackers. He munched happily.

"Oh, I've missed the taste of proper food nearly as much as brewing," he said.

Dobby appeared, and looked sternly at the gruel. Before he could say anything, Harry motioned him over.

"Gruel is all they serve in Azkaban, Dobby. He's allergic to it by now. How about some steamed rice and vegetables, with some more chicken? Just a little bowl, he shouldn't overeat."

Two weeks later Severus looked much better, both boys agreed. Even Dobby was satisfied with his progress. Draco came over most days to play chess or just hang out with Severus when Harry was out. Now that he had his own robes again, and wasn't ghastly pale anymore, Severus looked more like the man they knew from school. The subdued escapee disappeared as well, more of his darker personality showing every day. Still, his experiences had mellowed him, and although his moods could get really dark, the boys were unimpressed by his sneers.

Harry kept an eye on Snape Manor, as he had done for nearly three years, and Dumbledore had indeed visited on several occasions, no doubt hoping to find Severus there.

"You do know what day it is today, right, Harry?"

"Its Monday, Severus."

"That's not what I meant. You promised…"

Harry laughed at the man. "Merlin, Sev, you're behaving like a five year old. Yes, I promised, and yes, I intent to keep that promise. Sit down and eat breakfast, and then we'll go to the lab."

Had it been up to Severus, he would have grabbed a piece of toast and headed off to the lab immediately, but he had learned to fear the Wrath Of Dobby if he didn't eat properly. So he sat down, took two pieces of toast and some scrambled eggs and began to eat.

Harry smiled. "I'm impressed with how well you are doing, Severus. This week we'll take you off the nutrient potions and start you on protein shakes instead."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Protein shakes?"

"A muggle invention. Bit like milkshake. Thick milk with a flavor. Also full of protein and carbs. Now that your stomach is used to food again, we can try those. You know all too well that you shouldn't stay on nutrient potions for too long."

Severus nodded. "Harry? You haven't mentioned Voldemort. Is the headmaster looking for me to spy again?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Severus. Voldemort is still out there, though we're at a bit of a standstill at the moment; he doesn't have the resources to attack much anymore, with the loss of many of his inner circle. And no, you won't spy anymore even if we'd let you; the reason they set you up is that they discovered you were a spy."

Severus lowered his head. "I should have guessed when you told me Lucius had impersonated me. It seems my brain isn't working as it should yet."

Harry patted his arm. "It will, Sev, it will."

"And you look well-trained! And you have a mansion. How come…"

"SEVERUS! Calm down, honestly. Ok, you just eat and I'll tell you stuff, ok? Well, after you were arrested and I had my daily fights with Dumbledore I decided I didn't trust him anymore. So I also refused to go back to the Dursleys. Apart from no longer trusting the blood protection, I also was getting tired of being beaten up and starved every summer."

Severus' eyes widened. "So that's how you knew…"

"Knew what to do to feed you up? Yes, it's something I did every summer once I was free of them. Anyway, Dumbledore begged, threatened, reasoned, but I wouldn't return. I went to Gringotts one day and asked for the lists of my estate. It was a lot more then I had thought. So the day I graduated, I bought this manor and decided to train here instead of joining the Auror program Dumbledore had arranged for me – without my consent or knowledge, I might add. There's a whole training room downstairs, complete with everything I needed. When you've put on some more weight, you can use the room to build up your strength again, and then I'd love to do some duelling practice with you if you don't mind. I bet I could learn loads from you."

Severus smirked as he scooped up some more eggs. "You always could learn loads from me, Potter, you just never noticed before."

Harry glared. "You never made it very easy to learn from you."

Severus snorted. "Come on, it started with your very first lesson in your very first year, when you wrote notes to your classmates instead of paying attention!"

"Don't be ridiculous, I wasn't writing notes! I was writing down what you said, every word! Want to see my old notebooks?"

Severus stopped chewing and stared. Then he sighed and studied his nails. "I never was very fair to you, was I?"

"Not really, no."

"I'm sorry. I never understood, really, why you believed in my innocence, and why you bothered to visit me…and fight for me so hard. You had no reason to like me."

Harry dropped his fork. "I didn't have to like you to trust you. Besides, I knew that you would never be stupid enough to lower your mask and let yourself be recognised. It was too stupid to be you. I may not have liked you, but I sure didn't want you Kissed for something you didn't even do!"

Severus bit his lip. "So…the one boy that had more reason then any student to hate me, trusted me, and the man who claimed to love me like a son…"

He threw his chair back and ran from the room. Harry wiped at a tear of his own and went after him.

He was lying face down on his bed, head in his arms. He tried not to make any noise, but his shoulders jerked slightly with the sobs he held back.

Harry just sat next to him and rubbed his shoulders.

"It's ok, Severus, you don't have to hold back."

He continued to run a hand over the shaking shoulders and whisper soothingly while the man cried out three years worth of pain.

Finally the sobs stopped and the shaking decreased. Harry went into the bathroom and came back with a damp cloth. He turned the man over and wiped the wet face.

"Sorry," the Potions Master whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Severus. Do you want to sleep for a while?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm ok. Can…can you stay with me in the lab though?"

"Of course. I have some potions of my own to brew, anyway. I'd be happy for your advice."

They worked quietly in the lab together for a few hours. Severus tried some simple potions first, and found he had not lost his touch.

"I did recite lots of recipes in Azkaban to keep myself busy," he said, "but of course I had no way of verifying if I remembered them correctly. It seems I do, though."

"Well, you are a master, after all. And you did do a lot of reading these past weeks. How about something more difficult?"

"Hmm. Yes. I'll brew some useful potions for you and Draco to use on missions. Healing potions, for example."

"Oh, great idea. We don't often have the time to brew them ourselves for every single mission. Thank you."

Severus smiled "Least I can do, Harry. Say, you're not half bad at brewing yourself. Did I miss something in class?"

Harry snorted. "Yes, loads. Draco messing up my potions, for example, or tampering with my ingredients. But to answer your question: Hermione helped me at first, and later I bought my own supply of potions books."

Dobby entered, holding something in his hand.

"This came, Harry." He held out a small glass orb, the size of a marble.

"What is that?" Severus asked, curious.

"Something Hermione invented. It's a spoken letter. Like a howler, but without the screaming. It's based on the muggle video letters, actually. When I throw it on the floor, it breaks and a miniature of the sender appears, speaking his message to me. I'd show you, but I think this one is from Dumbledore. There are only a few of us capable of creating one, and I don't expect one from Ron and Hermione, they usually just owl, as does Ginny."

"You don't want me to hear?"

"I don't want you to get upset. But if you wish, yes, of course you can hear."

Harry threw the orb to the floor. It broke, and a miniature of Dumbledore hovered in the air, five feet of the ground.

"_Harry, please, listen to me. I'm desperate. I've bought back the manor, but Severus never showed up there. I don't know where he is. I know you won't believe me, but I'm worried sick. What if he's hurt, or what if Voldemort captured him? He could be dead! Harry, please, if you know where he is, just let me know if he is ok. If you don't know, please, find him. If you can't find him, no one can. Please Harry. I know I don't deserve anything, I know I don't deserve his forgiveness, or even to ever see him again, I just want to know that he's safe. Harry, I beg you._"

Severus raised his eyebrows as the figure disappeared. "An interesting form of communication. I've never heard him use the word 'please' that often. He sounds sincere…"

Harry nodded. "He is quite desperate. When I saw him last week he looked very old and frail. He didn't even offer me one of those blasted lemon drops."

Severus stood still, lost in thought. "Very well then. You can let him know I am here, but tell him I don't want to see him and I don't want any contact with him yet."

"Are you sure? You know what he is like; he'll still try to talk to you."

Severus took up a ladle, hands shaking slightly. "Yes, let him know. We can't afford the leader of the Order of the Phoenix dying from worry, can we?"

_Meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, later that week_

"Harry! We didn't know if you'd come."

"Well, I'm here. It's been a busy week. The Ministry hasn't had Lucius Kissed yet; I've been questioning him. He had some useful information on the raids that are planned. I've sent you a list. Only small ones, Voldemort is out of resources and recruiting has slowed down. But he is well hidden and rebuilding his inner circle, so it's only a temporary lull. Anyway, the raids. They're not big, three or four Death Eaters on small targets, so we should easily be able to apprehend them. Nevertheless, Voldemort should know by now Lucius has been captured and he might set up a trap."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll assign teams and make sure they are extra careful, with at least one Senior Auror in every team. Any other news?" he asked, hopeful.

"Nothing relevant to this meeting, though I would like a private word with you later on. And I'd like to be part of the team responding to the planned raid on Surrey. As you know, my cousin is in hiding there and even though I do not like him, I want to make sure he is safe."

"Certainly, Harry. I'll send messages tomorrow to the teams so they can plan. That is all for now, I think."

Order members left the room, chatting, slightly relaxed for the first time in years. The standstill of the past year might not be what they wanted, but the rest sure was nice.

Harry stayed behind. He didn't bother to take a seat.

"Severus insists I let you know that he is safe. He is staying in my house, but he doesn't want you to contact him. He will do so himself when he feels he is ready, which, I should add, might be never."

Dumbledore slumped back in relief. "He is not hurt?"

Harry shook his head. "He was in bad shape of course when he arrived, but he is doing well. I only let you know because he took pity on you after hearing your message. You will not bother him in any way."

With that, he left the office.

Fred and George were waiting for him in the corridor, as they had planned to go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks. They settled in a quiet corner and took a sip, sighing at the same time. Harry laughed.

"I've told Severus about meeting you," he said, and saw two very tense faces.

"He understood. Said he didn't really blame your family because you lost so much. He asked me to say that he is very sorry for what you've been through, and that he has always appreciated your mothers kindness towards him. He never actually said it out right, but I think he misses her too."

"He is sane then?" the twins asked, in surprise.

"Very much so. He's not quite himself yet, though he's becoming more so every day. He's brewing again; I think the routine of it helps him."

The twins looked at each other. "Do you think we can visit him sometime?"

Harry hesitated. "I'll ask him. He knows best what he can or can't handle."

Harry went home quite early, to find Severus still up, reading an Agatha Christie book, one of the muggle writers he had come to enjoy.

When Harry came in, he looked up, tensed.

"Yes, I told him. Also told him to leave you alone. Spoke to Fred and George. Relayed your message. They asked if they could come visit you sometime, when you feel ready."

Severus sat for a while, pondering. "I think I could handle Fred and George soon," he decided.

They sat reading in silence for another half hour, and went to bed early.

Early the next morning they were woken up by the sound of the wards going off. They met, Harry with his wand at the ready, in the hall.

Harry checked his wards and sighed in annoyance. "Dumbledore," he said.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N

**(checks the stats) Man…this story is apparently popular. Over 900 hits in one single day.**

_Severus: That's because I'm in it._

_Draco: Of course not, it's because of MY charming presence._

_Harry: Maybe it's because Dumbledore is being so mean_

_Severus/Draco: Naaaaaah…._

**(Ignores the banter) Well, whatever the reason, I'm flattered…and a bit scared! Now I've raised expectations…I hope I can live up to them.**

_All three point out that that's not a very Slytherin thing to say._

**Hey! Anyway, let's just remind people (humph, like people need reminding) that everything belongs to JK Rowling, that wonderfully talented writer. (is the female form of 'writer', 'writress'? Like 'waiter' and 'waitress'?)**

"A-Albus?" Severus managed, paling.

Harry nodded grimly. "He's trapped in the wards. Apparently he tried to Apparate in, the wards caught him and caged him. I so love my new fancy wards…" he grinned. Then his face became grim again.

"Do you want to talk to him, or do you want me to just kick him out?"

Severus hesitated. "What do you think?"

Harry shrugged. "You should do what you think is best, Severus. The advantage of talking to him now is that he is not in his own domain, but mine, and trapped to boot. You have an advantage over him now. But that's only part of the story; only you know if you are ready to face him. I can't make that decision for you."

"I suppose we can't leave him in there until oh...say…next week, so I have time to prepare?"

Harry laughed. "Sorry. I don't want him on my premises all week."

Severus sighed. "Ok, let's go then. You go first," he said, pushing Harry forward.

Harry snorted, but walked into the garden to see another glass cage, this time containing a very nervous headmaster.

"What part of 'Stay away from him' didn't you understand, Headmaster? Because I'll be happy to explain it further."

Dumbledore turned around quickly. "Harry! I…I…your wards…"

Harry tapped his lip with his wand. "Yes, my wards. Oh, that's right, you haven't been here since before I added the newer wards, and locked you out of my house. Tell me, why did you come here against my repeated warnings?"

Dumbledore lowered his head in defeat.

"I wanted…You won't believe me anyway…but I just wanted to sneak in and see Severus. Not to talk to him, just to…to watch him sleep and see for myself that he is ok."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You wanted to watch him sleep?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes."

"So," came Severus' voice from the shadows, "you just decided to break into Harry's home, like you have done mine, while you were told we didn't want you here?"

Dumbledore's head whipped up. "Severus," he breathed.

The Potions Master stepped into the light, face contorted in anger. "What right do you think you have, to even see me? To force me to show myself? Was your letter just another attempt to manipulate Harry and me into telling you where I was?_ 'I know I don't deserve his forgiveness, or even to ever see him again'_ that's what you said, wasn't it? And then you just waltz in here against my wishes, with the intention to break in and sneak up on me in my sleep. Just who the hell do you think you are?" he shouted at the trapped man.

Before the headmaster could respond, he went on.

"You…I waited for you for three years! I didn't escape because I hoped, I prayed to every deity I could think of that you would come to talk to me, that you would change your mind and believe me. But you threw me in there without a word, or even looking at me, and just forgot about me! Did you know that Harry had to tell me what I was accused of, when he came to see me after a WHOLE BLOODY MONTH? What do you think it was like to realise that this boy, that I had treated so badly, trusted me more then the man who told me repeatedly that he loved me? That he thought of me as his son? It was all just a lie, wasn't it? You used me, you used my hopes and fears and…yearnings…to make me into one of your pawns. And when it no longer suited you, you threw me into the pits of hell without another thought."

He turned around. "Just…just send him away, Harry, before I do something I might regret someday."

Harry nodded and raised his wand. The cage disappeared. The headmaster looked every bit his 150 years old, tears running down his face. As Harry cast the spell to send him back to Hogwarts, the old man raised his head to meet his eyes.

"It wasn't a lie," he whispered, "it was never a lie." With that, he disappeared.

Harry lowered his wand, a pensive look on his face.

When he came down for breakfast two hours later, Severus found Harry in the library, deeply immersed in some books.

"Hey. Researching? What are you reading?"

Harry snapped the book shut guiltily. "Yeah, a bit. How are you?"

Severus sighed. "Doing ok, I guess. It did feel good to get that all off my chest."

"I can imagine it did. You were great."

"Thanks. And now that you have sufficiently distracted me from my original question, what were you reading?"

Harry leaned back in his chair. "Just a vague idea I had. I seem to have been wrong though. It's not important."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "Important enough, apparently, to try and hide from me what you were reading and then to try to distract me."

Harry groaned. "Drat, Severus. Your brain is beginning to function normally again."

A pleased smirk appeared on the Potions Masters face. "Yes, it is, isn't it? So, why don't you tell me either what it is?"

Harry kicked the desk. "Can't you let this one rest, Severus?"

"Oh no, I'm enjoying this way too much. My brain is working again and I get to pester you. What more could I want?"

"Breakfast?" Harry supplied, hopeful.

Severus pinned him down with a gaze that reminded him so fiercely of the Potions Master of his childhood that he nearly began to sweat.

"Out. With. It. Harry."

He was defeated, and he knew it. His shoulders slumped. "I was pondering something Dumbledore said, and was trying to see…I was just wondering if there could be some way that someone influenced him."

The face was carefully tooled in a neutral expression. "Someone?"

Harry stood up. "Mad Eye Moody brought in the reports that day. Mad Eye Moody had been the one to tell us he had received an anonymous tip the Death Eaters would be attacking the village. Mad Eye Moody was the one who insisted there were enough people for the mission and you wouldn't be needed. Truth be told, I suspect Mad Eye Moody of helping to set you up and I wondered…him being such a good friend of Dumbledore…"

Severus' face betrayed nothing of his feelings when he answered calmly.

"I doubt Dumbledore would be easily hexed. And most potions work only for a limited amount of time. To manage to dose him once without him noticing would be a miracle, let alone every month or so."

Picking up the books, Harry answered, "Yes, that's what I found so far. I just…just had to be sure."

Severus inclined his head slightly.

"I'm hungry, Harry. Let's get something to eat."

At Hogwarts.

Dumbledore collapsed on his couch after Harry had sent him back. He rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"My, my, Albus, weren't you up early this morning?"

Minerva McGonagall stood in the room.

"You went to see Severus, didn't you? Against all their warnings."

Dumbledore stared at the fireplace.

"When will you ever learn? It's bad enough what we did to that boy, can't you at least respect his wishes now?"

With that, the Transfigurations teacher stalked from the room, robes billowing behind her, reminding Dumbledore very forcefully of the potions master. He sighed as he remembered the angry, frail looking young man that had thrown so many harsh truths at him. If Harry said he looked loads better now then he did when he first arrived, he hated to think of what that would have been like. Severus still looked like a breeze would blow him away.

Meanwhile the Transfigurations teacher sat down at her desk with a piece of parchment in front of her. Despite her reproach to Albus earlier, she couldn't resist the opportunity to try either. Only with a lot more respect then the Headmaster had done.

Harry's mansion

Harry and Severus had just returned from visiting the Weasley twins. It had been Severus' first time out of the house since his escape/release, and Harry had worried, but it had gone very well. The twins had clearly felt uneasy and guilty, but Severus let them know he didn't hold anything against them.

"She was your mother, you were grieving. Grieving people are led by emotions. You and your family are hardly to blame."

They had talked fondly about Molly a bit afterwards, how much she had cared for all of them, her infamous temper, and how proud she would have been of her grandchildren, little Molly especially.

With promises to come back later to check out their expanded shop, they had left after a short visit. Severus still tired easily and even though it went well, it had still been emotional.

Severus poured them some tea and got out some biscuits when Harry noticed the owl with a small package and a letter.

The letter bore McGonagalls name but was addressed to him. He opened it and read.

"_Dear Severus,_

_I know you don't want me to contact you, and I know that I have done just that. I'm addressing this to Harry. Perhaps he will tell you that I have written, and you can decide whether you want to read it or just chuck it in the fireplace. I wouldn't blame you if you did._

_I thought I wanted to say hundreds of things to you, but now that I'm writing I find that I don't know what to say. 'I'm sorry' just wouldn't do, would it? What I've done to you was too gruesome for that._

_I don't expect you to forgive me; in fact, I insist that you do not. I will not write you again after this letter. All I wanted to do was let you know that I realise what I have done and will bear the guilt for the rest of my life._

_Oh Severus, how I wish now that I had been more insistent when you were arrested, that they question you under Veritaserum. That I had listened more to what Harry had to say. When Harry walked in, dragging Lucius, and the scumbag admitted to impersonation you, I thought I'd die of shame. _

_I have done nothing for you, and there is probably nothing you would let me do for you now. There is only one thing I can return to you; when you were arrested, no one bothered to take your wand. I've retrieved it from your rooms and kept it safe, hoping against hope…well. I return it to you now. _

_Minerva_."

Harry stared at the letter in shock, mouth wide open.

"Harry?" Severus asked, "What is it?"

Harry closed his mouth. "A letter from Minerva. She sent it to me so you would have the choice whether or not you want to read it."

Severus paled. "And the package…?"

Harry licked his dry lips. "She's returning your wand to you."

Now the potions master's mouth fell open. "She…she kept my wand?"

With trembling hands, he took the letter from Harry and read it. Tears formed in his eyes, and he slowly unwrapped the package. In it was indeed his own wand. He looked at it in awe, and his fingers remembered their old skill. He waved it, and music filled the room.

"If you don't mind…I think…I think I have a letter to answer," he said, and rushed from the room.

A strange owl entered the Deputy Headmistress' rooms just before she retired for the night. "My, you're not something one sees every day," the witch complimented the owl, who hooted arrogantly, obviously agreeing with her assessment. She laughed as she untied the letter.

Her laughter turned to a strangled gasp as she recognised the handwriting. It took ten minutes before she dared to open it.

Her eyes flew over the single sheet of parchment and the familiar handwriting on it.

"_Minerva,_

_Thank you for returning my wand. I had indeed not bought a new one yet. I was surprised, I must admit, that you kept it all this time. _

_I would like to just write down that I've forgiven you all and we can pick up like nothing has happened, but that would be a lie. It will take a lot of time for me to forgive anyone, but your honest letter, as well as you keeping my wand for me, did go a long way in reducing the anger and resentment I feel towards you._

_That is one thing that Albus fails to understand; that his demanding to see me, forcing me to see him, expecting my forgiveness, only succeeds in alienating me further (if that were possible). _

_I know I said I don't want any contact with any of you, but I think I would like it if you wrote again. You don't have to apologise all over again; I got the point. Just tell me what is going on with my Slytherins, if the new first years had heart attacks when you transformed, that sort of thing. Let's just go from there, ok?_

_Severus._

_Ps: Oh, the owl that delivered my letter has been instructed to wait for your response, as I know the Headmaster has ways to monitor the school owls. His name is Pothos, and complimenting him regularly will ensure you of his devotion to you. He has a rather bloated ego. I'm in the process of researching a potion to remedy that. (don't read that last sentence aloud where he can hear, he'll bite me when he returns if you do)."_

Minerva hugged the letter to her chest in happiness and spent most of the night writing a very lengthy response.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry came home the day of the raid in Surrey, tired, filthy, but relieved. He found Severus laying around in the livingroom, in a comfy armchair and feet on the coffee table, reading what looked like at least ten feet of parchment.

"Hey," he said.

Severus looked up. "You're back! Good, I was beginning to get worried. How did it go?"

Harry nodded. "Quite well. We captured two of the four Death Eaters. We had hoped to catch them all, but it was either that or suffer casualties. Ron has suffered a cruciatus curse, but will recover quickly. No one else was hurt."

He sighed and slumped down on the couch, grabbing Severus' goblet of juice and downing it.

"It was tiring though. I'm gonna take a bath in a minute, if I ever manage to get up again. What are you reading, anyway?"

"A letter from Minerva. I told her she could write to me. She got a bit over enthusiastic though, it's five pages long. I think I know every little detail about what goes on at Hogwarts now. She doesn't mention who is teaching Potions, though."

"Bill Weasley," Harry answered, running a tired hand over his face, "He isn't half as good as you, of course, but he does well enough. The kids love him."

Severus nodded. "Bill was quite a good potions student. They could have done worse then to hire him. Who is Head of Slytherin?"

"They're in between Heads right now. Sinistra took over, but she never really liked it. It didn't do the House much good, either. Draco has spent a lot of time at Hogwarts, helping out Madam Hooch, who was injured a few years ago during a mission. The Slytherins turn to Draco more then they do to Sinistra. He is considering quitting his job at the Ministry and taking over the Flight Instructor job, as well as Head of House. It's just that he is such a valuable source of information on the Ministry."

"No doubt. But he doesn't enjoy it?"

Harry shrugged. "He does, to a certain extend. He is a Slytherin and a Malfoy, after all. It is what he does best, gathering information. But I think he is tired of it. There are many prejudiced against him at the Ministry and thanks to his efforts Voldemorts success rates in recruiting Slytherin sixth and seventh years has dropped drastically. In the end, he and I both feel that protecting the children, and stopping the recruiting, has to take priority. We have other spies at the Ministry, albeit less effective."

"I would agree with you. Remus is back at Defense I see."

"Yes. Hermione learned to brew the Wolfsbane Potion for him. Dumbledore asked me, but I told him I was too busy training and all. Actually, I was chasing Lucius, but I didn't tell him that."

"You would have been good at teaching Defense."

"Maybe. Maybe I should reconsider now; Remus is a bit overworked. He is also teaching first through third year Transfiguration so McGonagall could take over some other duties."

He stood up. "I'm gonna take a bath." He groaned and stretched his aching muscles. Severus lazily waved his hand and a potion flew over.

"Here, I've been brewing some muscle relaxant, you look like you could use some."

Harry stared.

"It wasn't difficult to brew," Severus said, wondering what he'd done.

"Erm, thanks…You just summoned that bottle without a wand, without even saying a word!"

Severus suddenly realized what he had done. "I did? I did! Oh that is great, I've been trying for a week now to see if it had come back yet."

He looked at Harry's confused face. "I practised and learned a lot in my first year in Azkaban, Harry, but after a while it all became too difficult. I was actually at the height of my power twelve months after being imprisoned. I learned silent and wandless magic…and doing it at the same time…And I became a True Animagus. Look."

He rapidly changed forms several times, from his human form to a cat, a snake, an owl and a zebra back to his human form.

"I can become any animal I want now."

Harry was stunned. "That is…that is just unbelievable, Severus! I didn't know there were any True Animagi left."

"Very few. There are Animagi with more then one form, but I think there were only three or four True Animagi this past century. Wordwide. So you can imagine I was slightly surprised when I discovered this."

"Absolutely. Useful though. Is that how you followed us to your cell? Because I didn't see a cat there…"

"I was a mouse then."

"Ah. You should have changed into a snake and talked to me, I would've taken you home straight away."

"Suuuuure. No one would have noticed, right?"

"Oh well. Guess you have a point there. Can you teach me the wandless and silent magic thing?"

"I can try. But it's draining at first and I need to build up my old skill again too."

"That's what the training room is for. Just be careful you don't overdo it, or Dobby will be after your blood."

For the first time in his life, Harry saw his Potions Master's face contract in fear and the man actually shuddered.

"I certainly do not wish to risk that. Harry…"

"Yes?"

"Can I invite Minerva here?"

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Of course. You can invite whoever you like. My house is your house, Severus. Do you need me to be here?"

"I would appreciate."

"Sure. Just let me know."

Three weeks later, the now familiar black and silver owl appeared in front of the Deputy Headmistress.

"Hello Pothos. Another letter from Severus?"

The owl hooted, eyeing her expectantly. She was the only human who ever gave him dead mice instead of owl treats, and he had developed a great fondness for her because of it. He was not disappointed. She picked up a dead field mouse and gave it to him, sitting down to read the letter while he gobbled it up.

"_Hello Minerva,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. It will be rather short, I'm afraid. _

_You seem to have made Pothos very happy; he is always extremely excited when I send him to you to deliver my letters. You'll have to let me in on your secret some time._

_My reason for writing is the following. If it is convenient to you, I would like to invite you to have tea with me on Saturday, at Harry's Manor. He informs me you have never been there before, so I will explain._

_Go to the Weasley Twins shop in Hogsmeade. From there, floo to 'Harry Potter Manor'_

_That will take you to a small guard house. Harry will be waiting for you there, as he has to accompany you through the wards. _

_Please let me know by return owl if you can make it on Saturday. Please do not inform anyone of where you are going (excluding the Weasley Twins with whom I have already spoken)._

_Severus_."

A very nervous Transfigurations Professor entered the Weasley's shop that Saturday afternoon.

"Hello, Professor," George said, smiling as she walked up to the counter, "if you go through that door, you will find the fire ready. Tell them we said hi, and could you take this?"

He handed her a small bag.

"Their favorite sweets. No, none of them do anything funny. Just regular stuff," he added, when he saw the look on the witch's face.

She nodded and proceeded to the fire. "Harry Potter Manor," she said in a slightly shaky voice, throwing floo powder in the fire.

She emerged, as Severus had said, in a small house. Looking out the window, she appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, all alone.

The fireplace roared, then the flames disappeared. Great. No way out either.

A soft chuckling startled her.

"Forgive me, professor, but I had to make sure you were not followed."

Harry threw off his invisibility cloak.

"We're pleased to have you here. The Manor is about a mile away. Do you wish to walk, or go by broom? I suggest the brooms, if we want to find Severus with his nerves intact."

He got two Nimbus 2001's out of a hidden cupboard. "For future reference, the password is 'the need for speed'."

They sped towards the Manor. McGonagall gasped when she saw the black figure on the top of the steps, robes billowing in the breeze, arms folded over his chest.

"He is nervous," Harry said, "as, I imagine, are you. Don't overwhelm him by being overly emotional, and do not touch him unless he initiates it. He is doing remarkably well, but the simple truth is that he will never be the same again."

Minerva nodded and discreetly wiped a tear from her eye.

They landed next to Severus. He smiled tensely.

"Hello, Minerva."

She sensed he was actually a lot more nervous then she was. She smiled slightly.

"Hello, Severus. I'm glad you invited me."

He turned abruptly. "Shall we go in, then?" he said.

She looked at Harry, wondering if she had done something wrong.

He nodded encouragingly. "Well done. Go on, go in. I'll put the brooms away."

When Harry entered the livingroom minutes later, he was surprised to hear them both chuckling.

As he entered, he saw why. Pothos had flown from his usual perch, excited to see the witch, and hovered around her, hooting and pulling at her hat.

"He never does that for any of us," Severus said, "I said compliment him regularly, not grovel at his talons!"

Pothos glared at him while Minerva blushed fiercely. Harry and Severus looked at her in surprise.

"Oh, well…promise me the two of you will never, ever tell this to anyone!" she insisted.

Duel vows were made, and she sighed.

"I give him mice," she confessed, "I catch mice for him while I'm a cat."

They stared at her open mouthed, and then began to snicker. Laugh. Roar. She tried to look indignant but only managed to blush harder.

Harry, between snickers, noticed that the ice had really broken by this confession and he silently applauded the witch.

"Oh, Minerva," Severus gasped, "That is priceless! I never thought of doing that."

The witch raised an eyebrow. "Thought of doing that…? Are you an Animagus, Severus?"

He stopped laughing and paled, realising he had given himself away.

"You can't tell Albus. You can't!" he pleaded. She looked at him sadly. He had never pleaded. Now that she saw him up close, she noticed how thin he still was, though he was beginning to put up some muscle again.

"I'm not telling Albus anything that is said or written between us, Severus. You have my word on that. But please, I'm curious…you are a cat, too?"

Severus shuffled his feet and stared at the ground. Harry groaned.

"Honestly, Sev, you're not eleven anymore and it's hardly something to be ashamed of."

The Potions Master glared at him, but regained his stance. "I'm a True Animagus, Minerva."

The witch gasped. "Really? When? How? Why?"

Harry snorted. "Why don't you two sit down and catch up some more, and I'll arrange the tea."

For a while, they sat sipping tea in silence. Minerva discreetly observed her young former colleague. Azkaban had changed him. He hadn't recovered completely, that much was clear. He would probably never recover completely. Moodswings, somewhat erratic behavior sometimes, were all to be expected, she knew. But there was also something else. His amiable banter with Harry, and, from what she had heard, with Draco. He had never done that with anyone before. He hadn't mentioned his own manor, but seemed quite relaxed in this one. His nails were dirty like they had always been, from brewing potions.

"Was Albus very angry when Harry sent him back?" Severus suddenly asked.

Minerva shook her head. "He didn't exactly have time to be angry. Besides, he appeared quite upset, but it's hard to tell these days. He has such huge shifts in mood. I begin to fear he is really loosing it. I told him off just as he came back, and he seemed to listen to what I said, but when I tried to explain to him some time later why he shouldn't put so much pressure on you, he became cold. One moment he seems to genuinely care about you, and the next he barely remembers you are proven innocent."

Harry frowned, and Severus shot him a quick glance.

"Does Alastor Moody visit him still?" Harry asked, returning the glance.

"Sometimes, yes, but not very often. He comes unannounced apparently, as I have sometimes seen him come out of Albus' office when he wasn't there."

Severus cleared his throat. "He has free entrance to Albus' office?"

Minerva nodded.

Severus bit his lip. "You were right, Harry, this does bear investigating. Since he is so fond of breaking into my homes, isn't there some way we could get into his office unseen?"

Minerva stared at them. "What are you two thinking of?"

"You can use my invisibility cloak, and I can put some charms on you," Harry said, "and carry you into the school transformed like a snake or something. That way we can communicate and people will be likely to stay away from you."

Minerva caught on. "He is at the Ministry now, and will not be back until after dinner," she offered.

Severus looked at Harry. "Let's do it, just to be sure. I'm going to collect some potions that might come in useful."

Harry nodded. "I'm getting my cloak."

"Sit still, Severus," Harry hissed in parseltongue at the snake around his neck, "You're tickling me!"

"I wouldn't have to move so much if you wouldn't be such a reckless flyer," the transformed Potions Master hissed back.

"I am NOT reckless," Harry exclaimed, forgetting the parseltongue.

"Yes you are," Minerva said from behind him.

"There. See?" the snake sounded decidedly smug.

"Quiet you, or I'll transfigure you into a snakeskin handbag," Harry threatened, "AGGHHH no, Sev, stop TICKLING!"

A little while later they emerged from the floo at the Weasley Twins shops and continued towards Hogwarts. Upon entering the Headmasters office and making absolutely sure no one was there (except the portraits), Severus transformed. They heard gasps from the paintings.

Harry looked at them.

"You see all that goes on in here. We are worried that someone might be feeding some kind of potion to Dumbledore to change his moods. Did you see any evidence of it?"

The portraits shook their heads. All but one. Everard.

"Everard?"

The portrait's face contracted as if in pain and he motioned to his frame. Harry ran his hand over the frame.

"He has been spelled to keep quiet. Were you the only witness?" The portrait tried to nod, but faled, his head jerking in every direction but forward.

Harry raised his wand. "Finite Incantatem," he said, and a powerful spell hit the canvas.

"Wow, Harry, you have learned quite a bit yourself since I was gone," Severus commented, throwing on the invisibility cloak.

The portrait sighed in relief. "That man with the weird eye, Alastor Moody. He was in here a couple of times. I'm not sure what he did, though. Albus has been acting strange these past years."

Severus had started walking around the office, and suddenly halted at the desk. He gasped.

"Harry, give me your dragon hide gloves, quick."

Harry threw them, and Severus put them on, picking up the quill.

"That's the trouble," he said.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Yes, Dumbledore was drugged. I couldn't make him all evil, sorry. But don't worry, I'm not letting him off easy…(very evil grin)**

"That's the trouble? The ink?" Minerva asked.

Severus shook his head. "Not the ink, the quill. This is a Rogue Quill. They were outlawed ages ago, and even Voldemort has never attempted to use them."

He rested the quill on one glove covered hand and sniffed it.

"Rogue Quills are hollow, of course, like all quills, but they have a secret compartment, just at the place where they are held to write. They are spelled to look like a really fancy everlasting quill. The inner compartment is filled with poison or potion, and then the tiny, sharp needles inside are pressed into the skin every time the quill is picked up to write. The needles don't penetrate enough to be felt by the owner, but the potion makes its way in and poisons the user on a daily basis. That's why I'm wearing gloves. The needles can't penetrate the dragon hide. The compartment needs to be refilled about once every three to four months. Where did he get this quill, Minerva?"

The witch had paled. "It was a birthday present from Alastor four years ago."

Harry sighed. "Just as we thought. What potion is in it, Severus?"

"I don't know for sure yet, I'll have to examine it properly. But from what you told me before, Minerva, I would guess this isn't a standard healing draught."

"Best to examine it first before we tell Albus," Harry said.

"Tell what to Albus?" the voice of the man in question came from the door.

They jumped. All. Severus could have remained out of sight in the invisibility cloak but unfortunately he was still holding the quill.

"Care to explain what is going on?" The headmaster said, stepping inside.

Severus didn't say anything and retreated into the shadows. He saw the pained expression on the man's face.

"When was the last time you used that quill, Albus?" Minerva asked.

"I don't know. I usually reserve it for official letters. A couple of days ago, I'd say. Why?"

Harry sighed and started to explain their suspicions and how they had come to search the office.

"Alastor? You think Alastor had anything to do with this?" Dumbledore said, astonished.

"Do you have more evidence?"

"You didn't need evidence to throw me away," Severus mumbled, stepping into the light. "I have brought several revealing potions. If we can all go to the potions lab, I will find out what potion is in this thing."

"I would like Bill Weasley present as well," the headmaster said, "let's go to the lab then."

Bill Weasley was, quite truthfully, astonished when the group entered his office. He immediately accompanied them to the private lab, where he and Severus started to work on the quill.

Harry picked up a book. Minerva tried to figure out what the two men were doing. Dumbledore sat on the couch, apparently in deep thought.

Over an hour later the two approached, looking grim.

"Well, there was potion in that thing. A very rare potion. It has a fancy latin name, but it's mostly known as Traitor's Liquid," Bill said.

Severus took over. "Traitor's Liquid is a potion that, apart from a couple of months to brew, also requires a drop of blood from the victim."

Minerva looked up. "From Albus?"

Severus shook his head, anger flashing in his black eyes. "No. From me."

He paced the room.

"The potion was created by an evil witch who had married a Maharadja. She was his second wife, and he had already one son with his first wife, who he loved more then life itself. The witch also had a son with the Maharadja, but as his second son, he would not inherit the title. So she invented Traitor's Liquid. She took a drop of the boy's blood as he slept and added it to the base. She then did the exact same thing as in this case. She put it in a Rogue Quill, which was easy for her to replenish every four months. The effect was that the Maharadja, when the potion began to work, grew colder towards his eldest son. He was more inclined to believe the worst of him. This happened gradually over the course of several months. When the Maharadja hadn't used the quill for more then a day, the potion's effects lessened and he became attached to his son again. But after a few months, the potion had taken such a firm hold that he was hardly ever free from its effects. Then the evil witch carried out the second part of her plan. She accused her stepson of trying to murder his younger brother, a child still at that time. The Maharadja immediately ordered his son's execution."

His audience were now all a sickly green color. He continued.

"After the boy was dead and her own son declared heir, the witch no longer needed to give the Maharadja the potion. He suffered severe withdrawal symptoms that took several weeks to clear up. After that, he was free of the influence of the potion and the grief of what he had done overcame him. He committed suicide."

"His youngest son grew up under his mother's evil influence, but by some miracle was actually a good and fair ruler. When, during an argument, his mother threw the truth of his brothers and fathers death at him, he had her executed, and restored his brothers good name. It was too late, however, to destroy the recipe of the potion. The witch had given it to several of her acolytes over the years, and that is how the recipe came here."

Bill Weasley shivered. "Is there an antidote?"

"No," Severus replied, "the only way to get the potion out of the Headmasters system is to have him go to the withdrawal period. Harry, I believe you are familiar with the Muggle phrases of 'detox' and 'cold turkey'?"

Harry nodded, covering his eyes. "That is what it will be like?"

"Yes. Multiplied by a factor three, I'd say. It's quite vicious and it's been in his system for four years already," Severus replied, looking coldly at the Headmaster.

Dumbledore stared at him. "Why would Alastor do something like this?"

Severus shrugged. "Because he hates me and wants me dead. It was very convenient when he found out about Voldemorts plans to get rid of me by having Lucius impersonate me. Those plans were known to him weeks before he ever told you of them."

The headmaster stood up. "I will have to lock myself somewhere. Minerva, you will have to take over for a while."

Bill Weasley looked alarmed. "You cannot be by yourself, Headmaster. I've seen a bit of what you are about to go through, and you will need help. You cannot stay at Hogwarts. If you were to escape your rooms, you would endanger the students."

Severus turned around and leaned against the fireplace. "I agree," he said, voice slightly muffled, "There is no other option if we want to keep Moody in the dark about this…development…for a while. He will have to stay with us, Harry."

The move was made quickly. Dumbledore was taken to the mansion. Dobby was briefed and asked not to harm the man.

Harry and Severus installed him in a rather bare room in the guest quarters.

"The withdrawal symptoms start about a week after you last touched the quill," Severus said, "but since you don't remember when you last used it, we don't know exactly when that is."

"You are not to leave this room," Harry said, "I will provide you with reading material while you are not suffering the symptoms yet, and we will take care of you, but you will stay here. The bathroom is behind that door. The door to the hallway will remain locked and warded. Give me your wand."

Dumbledore handed it over with a sigh. "Nothing else? Good. Dobby will bring you sleepclothes. I suggest you start wearing them permanently and have him keep your robes for you."

The headmaster nodded. "Erm…Severus? What exactly are withdrawal symptoms?" He asked tentatively.

The Potions Master, who had been about to leave the room, turned around to face his former mentor.

"At first, trembling, dizziness, headaches, muscle aches. In the second stage also nausea and sweating. In the final stage the muscle aches change to cramps and spasms. Migraines, vomiting, diarrhoea and delirium are unavoidable. I will brew potions to ease the worst of it, but it's gonna be hell, I can tell you that."

The old wizard sighed. "Don't bother with the potions. I deserve every bit of pain I'm going to suffer." He turned around and stared out of the window.

The Potions Master's face showed a wide range of emotions, from anger, hurt and fear to something akin to hope and longing. Harry looked at him and hoped Severus would be up to this. If not, he'd bring in a healer from St Mungo's, secrecy or not.

It was going to be a very long couple of weeks.

Three days after his move to the mansion, Dumbledore felt the first dizziness and trembling setting in. He asked Dobby to inform Harry and Severus. As the symptoms gradually worsened, he stared out of the window from his bed, the only piece of furniture in the room. Three days of solitary confinement had given him lots of time to think about his actions. Even with the knowledge that much of them were potion-induced, he finally felt the guilt overwhelm him.

Harry entered.

"How are you?"

"Dizzy and trembling, like Severus said. Headache starting. No muscle pains yet," the headmaster reported, still staring out the window. Harry hesitated before he walked into the room and sat on the end of the bed.

"Severus is brewing some potions. He will take care of you once the symptoms increase. Should he not be up to it, however, I will send for a healer, no matter how much we want to keep this a secret."

Dumbledore nodded. "Perhaps you should, anyway. Severus should not have to deal with me on a regular basis."

Harry frowned. "Maybe not, but he insists. And he is the best one for the job, as he knows which symptoms are normal, and what potions he can give you that do not react with the Traitor's Liquid."

"And what after that, Harry? Is there any hope at all, for me and him?"

"I don't know, headmaster. I really don't. That depends on many things. Your conduct after this is over, his own feelings and problems after three years in Azkaban, his ability to accept that much of what you did was due to a potion. Just remember that you, even though you were set up, still have no right to demand anything from him."

The headmaster sighed. "I know. I love him, Harry. In my heart he will always be my son, but I've done too many horrendous things to him to ever expect anything from him again. All I want now is for him to be happy, and if that means that I have to disappear from his life forever, I will do it. And this time there won't be any potion encouraging me to break my promises."

Harry stood up. "Concentrate on what lies ahead first, headmaster. You will need your strength to overcome this, worry about the future later." On that note, he left.

Harry sought out Severus in the lab, where he was brewing three different kinds of potions.

"Potions against the headaches, muscle cramps and nausea, and a dreamless sleep potion," the potions master said as an explanation, "extra strong. I also ordered some muggle equipment. An IV. He will loose a lot of fluids and will need to be given saline solutions intravenously. And we should be prepared to clean up a lot of messes."

Harry shrugged. "Magic does wonders on dirt. Is it dangerous?"

Severus cast a sideways glance. "The symptoms? Yes. He is old, even though in good shape. He will need to be monitored constantly."

"Are you ok with this, Severus?"

A deep sigh. "I don't know, Harry. For now, I'll just have to focus on getting him through this. I don't want him to die, no matter what he did to me. After that…we'll see. It's been a lot to take in."

"Warn me in time if it becomes too much for you, Severus. I will find a trustworthy healer somewhere should the need arise."

"Thank you, Harry. If you don't mind, I would like some help. I'm not strong enough yet to monitor him constantly. Can Dobby and one of the other house elves help as well, so I can eat and rest properly? Or else you can carry us both to St. Mungo's before the week is out."

"Goes without saying, Severus. Dobby will help, and I will be around to help too."

Severus smiled. "Thanks." His eyes became distant. "Molly would have been much better at this then I am. She and Arthur helped me a couple of times when I was hurt during summer and had nowhere else to go. Arthur isn't cut out to be a nurse, but Molly was a natural."

Harry's eyes softened as he remembered the woman who had been like a second mother to him.

"She helped me get back on my feet a lot too," he admitted, "she's the one that taught me the proper way to feed myself up again after returning from the Dursleys."

Dobby appeared.

"Harry, the headmaster is doing much worse now. Big headache."

"Close the curtains and keep the room as dark as possible," Severus instructed, "and give him a sip of this potion, but no more then a sip."

He looked at Harry.

"Looks like our job has begun."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I admit it…I've become a review addict, with all the sweet reviews I've received.**

**Whitehound: **You are probably right. But erm…being a non native speaker, I have no idea at all what London or northern dialects sound like…(**hangs head)** forgive me? Please? Can you overlook this fault? (**Puppy dog eyes)**

**TEC:** thank you so much for your many reviews. I really appreciate how you leave a thank you at the end of every review, it's very encouraging. So I'll leave you one this time: Thank you!

**On a different note, I am still gobsmacked by how well this story has been received, considering it was just a silly experiment to me. It seems I have now obliged myself to writing it the best I can. So I'm saying goodbye to the world of Extreme Fluff for a while to work on my two unfinished stories. (Till Travelling Days Are Gone is still a work in progress as well…sigh…I never was good at multitasking…)**

"Severus hadn't been exaggerating when he said we'd be cleaning up messes," Harry thought morosely, as he spelled away vomit and other excrements that were generally not supposed to end up on the floor.

He looked at Severus, who had levitated the extremely ill headmaster back to his bed and was expertly putting in an IV line.

Harry sighed as he banished the last of the filth with a sweep of his wand. Dobby was better at this sort of thing, but the elf had been monitoring Dumbledore for nearly 36 hours, and Harry had eventually dragged him to bed and ordered him to sleep for at least 12 hours before doing any kind of work whatsoever.

"Severus? How come you know how to do IV's and all?"

The tired Potions Master looked up. He too, had been up a long time, but both Harry and Dobby regularly kicked him out of the room, saying they would call him when he was needed and to get plenty of rest. Of course, most of the time he'd refuse to budge, but they did try.

"Being a Slytherin doesn't mean I don't appreciate the usefulness of Muggle inventions," he sneered, the tension of having the headmaster here and the workload of treating the man too much to remain civil.

"As you can imagine, he won't keep down any potion, so that renders them useless, and spells are too dangerous to try. He needs to replenish his fluids, and I have adapted the potions for intravenous use. Anything else?" he snapped.

Harry shook his head, knowing very well that to try and pry more information out of the man now would be suicide. Gryffindors were brave, but not to the point of throwing themselves in the path of a very upset and exhausted Severus Snape.

With a final wandsweep, he tidied the room.

"He should be able to rest for a couple of hours now," Severus said, collapsing in the chair by the bed.

"Why don't you get some rest as well, Severus?" Harry suggested, "I've made your favourite soup earlier. Eat something and go to bed, I'll watch him."

"Like you know what to do when there's a problem with the IV."

Harry snorted. "As a matter of fact, I DO know what to do when there's a problem with the IV. I took some lessons in a muggle hospital. You never know when you get hurt on a mission without any potions or healing spells nearby."

The Potions Master just growled, but he did get up from the chair and walked to the door.

"Call me if…"

Harry nodded reassuringly. "If anything changes, I'll call you."

Severus left the room, and Harry monitored him as he walked down the hall to make sure he did eat something and then went to bed, instead of going straight to the potions lab.

"He must be really tired," Harry thought, "he hardly even protested."

"Harry," a weak voice said.

"Yes, Headmaster? Can I get you anything?"

"No," the sick man shook, licking his dry lips with an equally dry tongue. Harry took the glass of water and dipped the end of a washcloth in it, running it over the man's lips.

A deep sigh was his reward.

"When…is this…going to be over…Harry?" the headmaster managed.

Harry took another cloth and wiped the sweat off the forehead. "You have entered the final stage," he said, "it's been over a week since you first fell ill. Severus guesses it should take no more then two days now before you start to get better. So hang in there for a while longer; the worst is nearly over."

"Harry…." The man tried to sit up. Harry pushed him down on the bed.

"Don't do that. Just lay still and enjoy the rest while you can."

"Where did I start…to go wrong with you…Harry?" the voice barely audible now.

Harry hesitated, but the blue eyes didn't leave his face.

"When you didn't insist on being secret keeper yourself. When you left me at the Dursleys. When I entered Hogwarts, and you actually encouraged me to do things at eleven, that grown wizards have failed to survive. But mostly when you led me to believe that Gryffindors are perfect, and Slytherins don't matter. Severus was right, you know. I entered as an unprejudiced child, but you allowed me to grow into a spoiled little sod, as you did my father and godfather before me. I wish the hat had put me in Slytherin despite my protests; I wouldn't have grown into the arrogant teenager I have been."

The Headmaster nodded warily, a tear running down his face.

"I have been…so wrong…repeated…the same mistakes…"

Harry put the damp cloth on Dumbledore's forehead. "Try to get some sleep."

A sound at the door startled him. Severus was standing in the doorway, a mug of soup in his hands.

"Sometimes, Mr Potter, you surprise me," he admitted, before turning around and stalking off towards his rooms, robes billowing behind him.

Two days later found three wizards and one house elf about to go over the edge with exhaustion.

Dumbledore was finally feeling somewhat better and could drink a few sips of water occasionally without starting to puke.

Severus looked like a ghost and had lost weight again. He stubbornly refused to leave and get some rest. Finally, when it was clear that the headmaster would continue to recover, Harry distracted him so Dobby could put a sleeping charm on the irate Potions Master. They carried him to his room and put him to bed.

"You go to bed now too, Dobby, and sleep for about six hours. After that, I'll go to sleep for six. By that time Severus will have woken up and we should be ready for all hell to break loose."

Dobby smirked. "But it will be too late by then, he'll have slept well. Dobby will make sure the professor eats when he wakes up."

"POTTER!"

Harry turned over in his bed and hid his head in the pillow, groaning.

"Oh joy, Severus is awake," he grumbled, checking his alarm clock. He had slept a little over six hours.

"Potter, get out here! How DARE you put me to sleep like that!"

The angry man was now standing in the room, looking as menacing as ever.

"Goodmorning, Severus. Sleep well?" Harry asked, yawning and stretching. The Potions Master fumed.

"You insufferable brat! 100 points from Gryffindor!"

Harry couldn't help it. He broke down and laughed so hard his sides ached.

"Oh Severus, I hate to tell you this, but you can't deduct points anymore. But tell you what, I'll take detention instead. I'll go look after Dumbledore while you eat and relax a bit. Deal?"

Severus collapsed on the end of the bed when he realised he had been outsmarted for the second time in a day.

"You hexed me!"

"I did no such thing. Dobby put a sleeping charm on you. I would not call that 'hexing', Severus."

"And then you abducted me from the room!"

"We put you to bed."

"Nobody puts me to bed! Ever!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Severus, how did you think you ended up in bed when you first came here?"

Severus slumped down, brooding.

Harry patted him on the shoulder. "I know it's hard, Sev."

The Potions Master looked up. "I don't think I can bear to have him around me anymore once he's recovered, Harry. Now that he's capable of holding down the potions I give him, he should be well enough to go back to Hogwarts in a few days."

"You still hate him?"

"I don't know how I feel about him now, that's the problem. I need to sort it out, and I can't do that with him hovering around me. I can go to my own mansion if you want him to…"

"SEVERUS SNAPE! Don't you even dare finish that sentence. Have you forgotten what I told you? This is your home as much as it is mine. You come first, remember that. I will contact Minerva and tell her to expect him in a few days, and to arrange someone to look after him. He won't need very intensive care anymore, the house elves at Hogwarts can handle it."

"Thank you, Harry," Severus said, looking relieved, "you're still a brat though, for tricking me…twice."

"I'm just really smart."

"Of course. And I can beat Minerva at Quidditch."

"Minerva?"

"Why did you think she is so interested in the team's accomplishments? She was a superb chaser when she was younger."

"I should invite her to play with Draco and me sometime, then."

"So he took the job?"

"Yes. And I did too. I'm going to take over Defense from Remus; he is incredibly overworked now. Tonks and I will be sharing the workload. She will live at Hogwarts with Remus so I can stay here. Besides, if I lived at Hogwarts Remus would be pestering me about marrying and having babies even more then he does now."

"He wants you to…settle down, as it were? And you have no wish for that?"

"Yes! No. I mean, I love Ginny. There's no one I'd rather marry then her, but we are young and I do have Voldemort on my hands. She wants to finish her education first. So we decided to wait. But Remus thinks I should be marrying and having babies just because my father had me when he was my age." Harry babbled on, turning red under his former professor's gaze.

Severus chuckled, and Harry pretended to pout, happy that he had gotten the man to smile again after two difficult weeks.

Dumbledore recovered quickly, and Minerva had arranged for a house elf to look after him in his own rooms when he would be returning.

He was weak and had lost a lot of weight, but the old wizard regained his strength at an amazing rate, and the day came when he would return to Hogwarts. Harry had created a portkey straight to the headmasters bedroom at Hogwarts for the occasion. It was too much to expect the man to fly the mile to the guard house to floo out.

He and Harry had agreed to meet in a few days' time to discuss what to do about Moody.

And now Severus had to decide what to do about Dumbledore. The old man looked at him as Harry created the portkey. Severus' face didn't betray any emotion.

"Severus…" the headmaster began, "I promised you I would respect your wishes this time. Do you ever want to see me again?"

Severus looked him straight in the eye. "I wouldn't count on it, Headmaster. Do not try to contact me."

The old man lowered his eyes and nodded, defeated.

"I won't."

He hesitated, then he reached up and touched the Potions Masters cheek with his fingers. "Farewell, my boy. Be happy."

He turned to Harry, who couldn't help but feel sorry for the man.

"Take good care of him, Harry," Dumbledore whispered, and handed the boy a note.

He took the portkey and activated it.

Harry stood next to Severus, staring at the place where the headmaster had just disappeared.

"You let him believe he will never see you again," Harry said, but his voice held no condemnation.

"It is ultimately kinder," Severus replied, "I don't know what I'm going to do yet. Even I would not be so cruel as to give him false hope, only to crush it later."

Harry didn't think that would be the case as he saw the man reach up and touch his cheek where the Headmaster had caressed his skin, but he held his tongue. This was Severus' battle, not his.

"What's that note he gave you?" Severus asked.

Harry opened it and let out a surprised noise.

"He has returned your money. All of it. This is the number of the vault and the password to give to the goblin who keeps the key to it. This must have cost him a fortune, the Order used the money in the past years and of course we have stolen some back with the sale of the mansion. He must have taken it out of his own vaults."

Severus turned and ran from the room.

A few weeks later 

"I want to go to Diagon Alley," Severus said, over breakfast, "can you come?"

Harry nodded. "No classes today, Tonks is taking them to a trip to the Auror department. Anything specific you want to buy?"

"Just some of the rarer potions ingredients. But for the most part, I just want to go out. It shouldn't be very busy there today. I want to shop a bit, buy some books maybe, have lunch somewhere, and I did promise Fred and George I would come by sometime to admire their shop."

"Ah, a day of fun. I'm all in favour of that."

Severus was subdued the first half hour in the Alley. It was quiet, like predicted, but he had yet to get used to being in public again.

Fortunately not too many people noticed them as they made their way first down to Gringotts, where they took care of Severus' financial business, and deposited half of the money Dumbledore had paid for Snape Manor back into the headmasters vault, and then to the apothecary, where Harry left it to Severus to order whatever was needed to restock the lab. They sat down for an icecream at Florian Fortescue's when they saw someone approach them. Severus paled but sat up straighter. Arthur Weasley made their way over to them, nervous.

"Hello Harry, Severus," he said. They heard the tremor in his voice.

"Hello Arthur," Harry said warmly, glancing at Severus to see how he was doing.

But Arthur Weasley sat down and looked the Potions Master straight in the eye.

"I am very sorry, Severus," he said, "I should never have believed you would ever harm Molly."

Severus licked his lips. "I never blamed you and your family, Arthur," he said softly, "I can't even begin to understand how hard it must have been for you, to loose her like that."

Arthur had gone completely grey, Severus noticed. His eyes had not yet lost the pained look whenever his wife was mentioned, although he smiled fondly at the memory of her.

"It's so good to hear people speak so highly of her," he said, "makes me feel that I wasn't the only one who saw what an incredible woman she was."

Severus smiled. Arthur patted his hand. "She thought highly of you as well, Severus. When I heard about Lucius…I felt so guilty for never giving you a chance…but very happy that Molly had not been wrong about you."

"Thank you," Severus said, and sighed. "Would you like an icecream too, Arthur?" he asked, with a slight grin this time. The tension broke, and they had a nice half-hour just talking quietly after that.

When they came home, an agitated Draco was pacing the livingroom.

"Thank Merlin you're back," he cried out, grabbing both their shoulders and looking them over as if to search for injuries.

"We were just in Diagon Alley, Draco," Harry said, "What's wrong?"

Draco swallowed. "I was so worried when I didn't find you here," he admitted, "Harry, Lucius has escaped."

"What? From Azkaban?"

"No, from the Ministry holding cells. Apparently they never transported him to Azkaban. Harry, he kidnapped one of the first years but let the kid go after he had reached the Apparition point. Tonks managed to keep him from hurting the children, but they are all pretty shaken. She did do the best shield charm I ever saw, though, she shielded the whole group of kids on her own. The other Aurors didn't even more a finger, the bloody cowards!" he raged.

"We couldn't trace him. But there's no doubt that he has rejoined Voldemort by now."

"And given him back his right hand man," Harry added grimly.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Dunno if I'll be able to update at the rate I have been recently. Work is interfering horribly with writing (smile) I'll still try to update as much as I can.**

"Do they have enough resources and manpower to start attacks?" Severus asked, feeling strange for not knowing what was going on in the Death Eater camp.

Draco sighed. "Not just Lucius escaped. It seems that the Dementors actually released several prisoners from Azkaban and handed them back to Voldemort. Ten. Only ten, but the most dangerous. Half the Inner Circle. The ones that hadn't been Kissed."

"They will be weak, though," Harry mused, "and will probably need time to recover. However, we need to start planning…and we need to know what is going on…" he said, staring in the distance.

Draco groaned. "Harry, no, you can't."

Severus looked at the boys. "What's going on?"

The blonde Slytherin sighed. "Harry mastered Occlumency shortly after your arrest. He also mastered Legimency. He can close his mind to Voldemort, but he can also purposely open it…and invite those visions."

The Potions Master paled. "Those visions knocked you out years ago."

"They still do," Harry admitted, "but its our best way of getting information, straight from Voldemorts head. He doesn't even know I do it."

Severus nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. Tell me, have you heard of a mindlink?"

Both boys stared at him.

"I am capable of linking my mind to others," Severus said, "it's a branch of Legimency. I could link to you as a sort of bodyguard. I would see the vision but not endure the pain, and I can help you through it so you won't loose consciousness. That means you can put up your Occlumency shields immediately after the vision ends."

Harry looked like Christmas had come early. In a subdued sort of way.

"But isn't it dangerous for you, Severus? If he saw you?"

"He won't see me," Severus reassured, "Besides, you just said he doesn't even know YOU are there, let alone me."

They sat on the floor, surrounded by pillows that Draco was stuffing behind them.

"Draco," Harry complained, embarrassed.

"I just don't want you to fall backwards and damage that single braincell you have," Draco retorted.

Harry snorted. Severus took a deep breath.

"You need to let me in, Harry. You don't have to lower your shields for that though, you can just grant only me access, like you would do with wards."

Harry obeyed.

"I can sense you," he said.

"Yes. I'm going to link now."

Harry gasped, and Draco looked concerned, but seconds later, they both opened their eyes.

"It worked. Good. Now, as you notice, I'm not actually seeing your memories as I would in Legimency. I'm there as a companion. Take some time to get used to me before you open your mind to Voldemort."

Minutes later, Harry's body convulsed as the vision began.

Severus also seemed to be struggling, but the more he focused, the more Harry calmed. It didn't take very long. Harry panted for breath, but remained conscious and alert.

"He plans to kill you, Draco."

Draco shrugged. "Of course."

"No, he actually plans to kill you. During the Quidditch match next month. He thinks your death will scare the Slytherin students into joining him."

Draco ran his hand over his face.

"That could pose a problem, yes, because Slytherin really needs to do well on that match to have a chance at the cup…"

"DRACO!" both Severus and Harry yelled.

The young Lord Malfoy glared. "Don't you think I've by now had some experience with being on his wanted list? I'm glad we discovered this, but I refuse to panic! If nothing else, I can find a replacement to referee that match."

"That is not all we saw," Severus said, "You are a target, but you are mostly a decoy. A secondary objective, if you want."

Draco looked decidedly insulted.

"The primary objective is the Ministry."

"Not the Department of Mystery again?" Draco asked. Harry lowered his eyes at the memory.

"No. It wasn't very clear what Voldemort has in mind. Decimating the Auror force seems to be something he relishes, but I wouldn't say that this is a very wise move to make."

"Well, the easiest thing to do," Draco said optimistically, "is to make me part of our forces that will defend the Ministry."

If looks could kill, Voldemort could have scratched the secondary objective from his to-do list immediately.

"How about we sent Moody into the fray on his own?" Severus suggested kindly.

Harry and Draco snorted. "Good idea. See how this constant vigilance thing works out for him. No, we will have to inform the Order and discuss the best course of action. We'll call a meeting for tonight."

They stood up and walked towards the floo.

"I've been training," Severus said, "I can help."

Harry nodded, taking Draco by surprise.

"Harry, you can't seriously…"

The Gryffindor held up his hand. "No, Draco, it is his choice to make. But you know very well that you aren't strong enough yet, Severus. We won't decide on whether or not to take you into battle until next month. We have time still. Meanwhile, we are of course in urgent need of very sophisticated potions and Bill Weasley isn't up to making them."

Severus nodded, not entirely happy.

"Fine. But if I'm well enough next month, I'm coming."

Harry grinned. "We're counting on it."

At Hogwarts 

Dumbledore had fully recovered and was now fulfilling his duties as Headmaster again. He looked up as Harry flooed in.

"I have urgent news, Headmaster," the young man said.

"I suppose it has to do with the escape of Lucius and his fellows?"

Harry nodded in confirmation.

"I induced a vision and found out what Voldemort's plans are. He means to attack here, at the Slytherin-Gryffindor Quidditch match next month to take out Draco, but that is only a decoy. Most of his forces will be attacking the Ministry. Getting Draco out of the way is easy enough, of course, now that we know about it, we just have to spread the word that he won't be refereeing the game."

"But the Ministry…" Dumbledore said, stroking his beard in thought.

"Yes, that will be more of a problem. We can outnumber them, but these are the most dangerous of all Voldemort's Death Eaters."

"I will alert everyone and start making plans."

"Very well, I will help with that. I'm having a good supply of potions brewed, Bill and Poppy should start brewing a good supply of healing potions as well."

The headmaster hesitated.

"Harry…we have had a few discussions on what to do with Alastor…"

The Boy Who Lived frowned. "He will not take part in this attack. We will deal with him before then. I know he is not a Death Eater, but we have no reason to trust him."

Dumbledore sighed. "I agree with you, Harry. All I want is the chance to ask him why."

"You will get that chance. I suggest we proceed with the plan I had in mind."

Order Meeting, later that day 

"…so this is the situation. We have, for once, time to prepare ourselves and I intent to use that to the fullest."

Albus Dumbledore glanced around the room. The Order nodded.

Alastor Moody, sitting between Harry and Arthur Weasley, spoke up.

"I am curious, Albus, why you have assigned Harry to plan this attack. No offence, boy," he grunted to Harry, "but I am much more experienced."

Dumbledore was paler then usual, Arthur Weasley was looking grim, and Harry sent an encouraging glance at the leader of the Order.

"You will not be joining this mission, Moody."

The old Auror raised an eyebrow…what was left of it, at any rate. "Moody? Why so formal, Albus?"

Dumbledore shook with rage. "Because my first name is used only by my friends, not my betrayers…and even worse, someone who has betrayed my son."

Moody paled. "Albus…"

Harry stood up, as Arthur Weasley.

"Give him the Veritaserum."

"Now wait a minute!" the man protested, "what is going on?"

"Oh, I think you know quite well," Dumbledore said in a near whisper, "I suggest you take the Veritaserum willingly, Moody. Or we will force you."

The Auror reached for his wand, but before it was even in his hand, he felt the tip of a wand against his neck. Minerva McGonagall, who had been sitting on the opposite side of the table, kept her wand steady, eyes blazing.

Harry administered the potion.

"Your name?"

"Alastor – Mad Eye- Moody."

"Are you guilty of the charges laid at your door by Albus Dumbledore?"

"Yes." The room gasped.

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"No; never. I only co-operated with them this time."

"Why?"

"To get rid of Snape."

"Why did you want to get rid of him?"

"I hate him."

"You believed him to be a traitor."

The Auror snorted. "No, I knew full well the boy couldn't be a traitor. He would never betray Albus' trust. He considered the man his father. He'd die before betraying him."

"But you did."

"Yes. To get rid of Snape, I had to sever Albus' attachment to him. I read about the Traitor's Liquid and it was perfect. Nothing less then that could have undermined Albus' faith in that brat. The story gave me the idea of the Rogue Quill."

"Where did you get the potion and the quill?"

"Mundungus gave them to me. I told him it was for a mission. The idiot believes anything as long as you buy him a firewhiskey."

"So you withheld information about the attack."

"Yes. Lucius Malfoy, knowing how much I hate Snape, offered me to get rid of him this way. I agreed."

"Molly Weasley and four of your former students died in that attack!"

"Their deaths were necessary to remove Snape."

"Even if he was a valuable spy? Even though you knew Albus loved him like a son? That several of us risked dying?"

"It did not matter. I do not care about them. Snape had to go. I wanted him dead. I hate Harry Potter for preventing the Kiss. Once he has fulfilled the prophecy, I will kill him for it."

At this point, Arthur Weasley, ashen faced and looking grim, was holding back his twin sons while Charlie and Bill held back their youngest brother and sister, all of whom had launched themselves at the Auror.

"Let us go! We'll kill him! He killed Mum!"

Tonks had a look of disgust on her face. "Kingsley died. You were his mentor for years, and you threw his life away like it was nothing!"

Harry called for silence.

"We can't kill him. I have already made arrangements; he will be transported to Azkaban to the maximum security prison. Considering what he did to Molly, Kingsley and Severus, I can't imagine a more fitting punishment," Harry added, with a feral sneer directed at the traitorous Auror.

Harry's Mansion 

Harry arrived home that evening, tired and sickened with the events of that meeting. He found Severus still up, brewing a potion he had never encountered before.

"What's that, Sev?"

"One of my inventions. It enhances your stamina and reflexes. In itself it doesn't do much, but it can give you the precious seconds you need in a battle. I've started brewing early so I can make enough of this for everyone who will be attending the battle."

"That is absolutely great, Severus! It'll give us quite a bit of an advantage when used well."

"Emphasis on those last words. It's still the drinker who has to do the actual work, remember that."

"Of course. Are you nearly done?"

"Yes, I need to stir ten more times and then leave it to simmer for a day."

Half a minute later the potions master turned the fire down and put a lid on the cauldron. He followed Harry to the livingroom.

Harry went to the cupboard and took out a green bowl.

"A Pensieve?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have put only one memory in there, Severus. One of mine, from tonight, in fact. I think you should see it."

Severus hesitated for only a fraction of a second before plunging in.

When he came back, Harry had left the room. Severus slowly walked up to his own bedroom, spending the entire night tossing and turning as he tried to come to a decision.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Five days, ten chapters! A record, for me at least. **

**Whitehound: **yes, I realise the last chapter didn't explain the 'why' but I wanted to keep that for this chapter, and leave it to Snape to find out.

_Azkaban Prison._

"I don't want to be here why did I come here oh Merlin I just want to scream and run back home while I can why did I come here…"

Trembling from head to toe, Severus waited for the gates to Azkaban to open. He had quietly petitioned, and immediately received, permission for a visit.

To his immense relief, there were no Dementors in sight, only a guard. He was led to a small secure room not actually part of the main building. The room looked pleasant enough, more like an interrogation room at the Ministry then the cell he'd spent over three years in. His palms were sweaty. He felt a cold hand gripping his intestines and twisting them around, lazily tying knots.

A sound at the door made him look up. Three Guards brought in Alastor Moody, the man he'd come to see.

The Guards dumped him rather unceremoniously on a chair that resembled the one in the Ministry courtroom. This one too, had chains that bound Moody to the chair immediately.

"So, you have come to kill me," the Auror growled, looking strange, for some reason, without his magical eye, "Figures. Only a Slytherin would attack a bound and helpless man."

"I'm not here to kill you," Severus replied, remembering how Harry had said those same words to him years before. He held his hands under the table. He would NOT let that man see them tremble. He would NOT show weakness, even though he felt ready to faint…

"I am only here to ask you why," he stated, pleased that his voice at least, sounded calm.

"Why? Because you were a Death Eater. Because you got a second chance. I didn't want you to get any credit for grovelling at the Dark Lords feet as a spy while others died, fighting REAL battles."

"I assure you that the battles for a spy might be less clear, but there none the less."

"Save your drivel. You took his Mark and you should have died that day. But you got off, the first time, and I was going to see too it that it would not happen again. When I heard of Lucius' plans, I knew your role as a spy was over. You were useless and worthless. I could finally dispose of you."

"Then why not hand me to the Ministry?"

"Don't be insane. Dumbledore would have gotten you out like last time. Even Potter would have fought for you. I could only get to you by taking away your protection from Dumbledore. And it worked. At first. If it weren't for that interfering brat. I hatee to admit it, that was one thing you were right about. That boy is just like his father, can't keep his nose out of things that don't concern him."

"You gave Albus the quill and with that the potion."

"Yes. The only way that stupid old fool would ever believe you'd betray him. If it weren't for Potter…"

Severus got up and left the building, the prison, the island as fast as his feet would carry him.

At the floo point on shore he hesitated. He took a handful of powder but thought for a while before releasing it.

"HOGWARTS, HEADMASTER'S OFFICE."

Dumbledore's wards alerted him that someone was about to enter through the floo. When the wards identified the unexpected visitor, he gasped and barely managed to grant permission to enter before he froze. The flames turned green and the man he'd never thought to see again stepped out.

"S-Severus," the Headmaster eked out.

For a long time, they said nothing else. Then the Potions Master sighed.

"I can't promise anything. I know the potion caused you to act the way you did. That doesn't change the fact that it will take me a long time to get over it, if ever. It probably will never be like before. But I think…I suppose I am willing to try and see if there is anything salvageable from our previous relationship. That is, if you want to…"

Dumbledore couldn't help the tears that ran down his face again.

"There is nothing I would want more then that, Severus. I thought…I thought I had lost you for good."

"Part of me IS lost for good. Some parts of me have probably changed for the better a bit. The rest I have yet to figure out."

"What made you change your mind about me?"

"Harry showed me in his pensieve what happened at the meeting yesterday. I needed more answers so I went to see Moody. And then I came here."

"You went to see Moody? Why?"

"To ask him precisely that. Why. He hates me, he says, for having been a Death Eater. I can understand that. He hates me for getting another chance, for getting off after the first war. Apparently he swore not to let me get away with it. When he found out my spying days were about to end, he set me up. Killing Molly in the process."

"But…why did you come here?"

Severus hesitated. "Because of what he said," he admitted, "because he said he had to take extreme measures – and believe me, Traitor's Liquid IS an extreme measure – to get you to stop protecting me. He…I heard what he said yesterday…about…" he trailed off.

Dumbledore slowly approached him.

"About what?" he asked gently.

"About how you loved me like a son. How I would have died for you. I had forgotten much of that in Azkaban. Those were my only happy memories, so the Dementors took them immediately, before I managed to close my mind to them."

"I did love you like a son. I still do."

Severus glanced up before directing his gaze to the fire again. "I know. It's just hard to believe that. But on some level, I must, or I wouldn't be here…"

"Is there…any hope…that you can forgive me someday?"

"I think I already did that. It's the forgetting that is so hard to do."

Dumbledore reached out as if to grab him into a hug, but checked himself and withdrew.

Severus bit his lip, frowned, and then stepped forward to awkwardly put his arms around the headmasters' shoulders.

Dumbledore, after the first shock had worn off, hugged him back, and the once familiar feeling and scents triggered many good memories in the Potions Master's mind that he'd thought were lost permanently.

After a few seconds, Severus drew back. Dumbledore yearned to hold him longer, but he had to let his son set the pace. This was already so much more then he had thought possible. A month ago he had said his farewells, believing he'd never see his son again. Forgiveness and a fresh start had seemed impossible.

"I have to get back," Severus said, "Harry and Draco will flay me alive when they find out I've been to see Moody. If I stay away longer they'll tear down half of Britain to find me."

Dumbledore chuckled. "They care about you. I'm sure they'll restrict themselves to a few lectures."

Severus nodded. "Yes, it's not really THEM I fear. But Dobby…I shudder to think what he's going to do to me."

He smiled slightly. "I'd like to rejoin the Order, if that's ok with you." Upon receiving a stunned nod, he took some floo powder.

"I'll see you at the next meeting, then."

With that, he returned to the manor.

"You went to Azkaban," he heard Harry's voice as soon as he Apparated back from the guardhouse to the main building.

"I am aware of that, Mr. Potter. However, I escaped several months ago."

"You went to see Moody," Harry ignored his 'fear inspiring potions master' act.

He had folded his arms over his chest and had an angry look on his face. Next to him, there was a house elf in the exact same position. Had Severus not been aware of how fierce Dobby could be, he would have been on the floor, laughing.

"Professor Snape should not have done that," the elf growled, "Harry and Dobby were worried. Professor should have asked Harry to come."

"I didn't want him to," Severus said stubbornly, "I had to do this myself."

He hesitated. "I wanted to confirm some things…before I went to Dumbledore."

Both inquisitors lost their stern facade and eyes widened. Harry smiled.

"I also rejoined the Order."

Dobby was about to say something, but Harry held him back.

"That's good news, Severus. But please, next time, at least warn me. I nearly fainted when I couldn't find you, checked the floo and saw that you had gone to Azkaban."

"I thought the Boy Who Lived would have stronger nerves then that," Severus sneered, before giving his promise.

Harry grinned and bustled him into the dining room for lunch.

Many Order meetings later, they were ready.

As the day approached, they were tense, but felt they had done everything in their power to be prepared. Severus had brewed several other potions, along with Bill Weasley. He had trained and regained a lot of his previous strength. Harry had duelled with him several times to see if he was in good enough shape to fight, and concluded that he was probably better then several of the other Order members.

The Ministry was empty. Ministry workers trying to floo or Apparate to work had found they were being blocked. At the Entrance Hall, the Order was awaiting the attack.

Thirthy Death Eaters. The scouts at the Apparition and Floo points had reported the number of attackers quite accurately. And there, grinning like mad, surrounded by the others, was Voldemort, with Lucius Malfoy at his side. Harry nearly heard Draco growl next to him.

"No one at home?" the Heir of Slytherin hissed, amused, "have they fled before us?"

"Not at all, Tom," answered the voices of Dumbledore and Harry, as they stepped up with the rest of the Order, over fifty strong. Severus took his place in the ranks.

"Sssseverussss," the man hissed, "my little traitor. And what has it brought you? Azkaban. None of them trusted you."

Severus said nothing.

"Do you see now, child, the truth of my words? There is no good, there is no evil, for indeed they hurt you as much, or perhaps worse then any curse I could have thrown at you. There is only power. They do not appreciate you, Severus. I will give you another chance. Another chance at greatness. I forgive your sins against me and I will take you back into the Inner Circle. Come over, and rejoin me."

Severus stepped forward.

"Yes, they did hurt me," he said softly, "they did betray me." He looked over his shoulder to see the faces of some in the Order contract in fear.

"Even now they do not all trust me."

Voldemort smiled. "Then come back to me. You have given me no reason to trust you with your betrayal, yet I'm willing to place my trust in you again."

Severus returned the smile and took a few more steps forward.

"Lucius betrayed me," he said, turning his smile at his former friend.

Voldemort looked upon him fondly. "I understand that is hard to forgive. What do you want?"

Severus stopped and stared at the floor, apparently deep in thought. Then he looked upon his former Master imploringly.

"My Lord," he began uncertain, continuing when he saw the immensely pleased look on Voldemorts face when addressed with that title, "Will you make Lucius swear an Unbreakable Vow that he will never raise his wand against me, or attempt to betray me, ever again?"

Both the elder Malfoy and Voldemort gloated when they realised that this was their chance to get back the most gifted Death Eater of all.

"Yes," they both replied eagerly. Wormtail came forward. Voldemort took Lucius' hand.

"Do you, Lucius Malfoy, swear that you will not raise your wand against Severus Snape, or do anything to cause him harm?"

"I swear it."

"Do you swear you will never again betray him?"

"I swear it."

The oath was sealed.

Severus bowed.

"Thank you, my Lord. I must confess something. Before I was a Death Eater, before I was a spy, I was something else."

The Dark Lord looked intrigued. "What?"

A content smirk appeared on the Potions Masters face.

"Before anything else…I am a true Slytherin," he said, stepping back into the Order ranks.

Voldemort's eyes burned with anger. "You Vowed to join me!"

Severus laughed. "I did no such thing. I swore nothing. I wasn't even involved in the oath Lucius swore, but thanks to you, MY LORD," he said mockingly, "Lucius now cannot do me harm without dying himself." The Death Eater yelled in frustration.

"But, you were right," Severus said, "There are no clear lines between good and evil. Good came from your ranks," he indicated Draco,

"and evil has come from ours." He grimaced as he thought of Moody's betrayal.

"But I have chosen my side, and I will never join you again!"

"ATTACK! KILL THEM ALL!" Voldemort shouted, insane with rage.

The Death Eaters stormed up to the Order, curses flying. Quickly, the fight broke up in groups.

Neville and Draco ended up at the far end of the room, battling Bellatrix. Remus Lupin, growling, had taken on Wormtail. The Death Eater was no match for the trained werewolf, and it was soon over.

Harry, meanwhile, was facing Nagini.

"_You will not kill my master_," the snake hissed.

"_And why not_?"

This clearly confused the snake.

"_Because…because…just because! You will not kill my master. He told me about muggle kind. That they lock us up in cages. He will protect me_."

"_It is true. I rescued a Boa Constrictor from one of those cages once. I wouldn't let that happen to you."_

"_You rescued one of my kind?" _The snake's confusion grew ever larger.

"_Yes. He wanted to go back to Brazil, so I set him free. His guards weret…unhappy,"_ Harry recalled. The snake hissed in distinct laughter.

"_I like you, Harry Potter. Perhaps you are not so despicable after all."_

"_You don't need to serve anyone, you know. He wanted freedom. Why don't you take yours? Go wherever you want to go. Perhaps, visit my friend in Brazil."_

"_I think I will. How do I get out of here again?"_

"_I will cast a spell to send you to Brazil," _Harry said. He raised his wand and cast a complicated spell. The snake disappeared.

Severus laughed when he saw Lucius Malfoy approach.

"You can't kill me without dying yourself, Lucius."

"I can still take you with me," the Death Eater sneered. He overlooked the battle field. It wasn't going well for them. The Order was well trained and seemed in perfect form. Some of them moving with dexterity he had never thought possible.

"LUCIUS!" Voldemort yelled, "Don't attack Snape!"

But Lucius, blinded by rage, whipped out his wand. "Avada Kedavra!" he shouted. The green light shot at Severus, who was blocked by a body. Suddenly an arm took his and he was yanked out of the way of the spell. He looked up to see Dumbledore.

"Old fool," Lucius hissed, paling, "You will pay for this, if it's the last thing I do."

Dumbledore's shield held most of the Crucio, but still made him fall to the ground.

But before he could curse the old wizard, Severus growled and leapt, transforming in mid jump. A black lion threw itself at the elder Malfoy, bit down on his wrist and tore his hand, and wand, right off.

Malfoy staggered back, eyes opened wide, the one remaining hand clutching his heart, the blood from the stump spraying his robes.

"Bloody…Vow…" he managed, before falling backwards, dead.

Voldemort seethed. "Felis Caedus!" he hissed at the lion, standing protectively over the Headmaster.

In the blink of an eye, the lion was gone and a wolf had taken its place. The spell hit it, causing no more then a tickle.

Dumbledore had managed to get up.

"Crucio!" Voldemort threw at the wolf. He missed spectacularly, since the wolf suddenly was gone completely.

Voldemort decided this just wasn't his day. He had expected triumph, but from what he could see, the battle wasn't going well for him. He saw the Potter brat disposing of his snake and then making his way over to him, not bothered by the many curses that hit his shields.

"We will continue another day," Voldemort hissed, summoning the remaining Death Eaters and disappearing.

Harry growled in frustration. Dumbledore put a hand on his shoulder. "It went well, my boy. Your time will come. He won't be able to get away every time."

The Order had begun to collect dead and captured Death Eaters. The healers moved in to take care of the wounded.

Three Order members were dead, four more severely wounded. Among them Neville, who had managed to kill Bellatrix, but not after taking several curses that would keep him at St. Mungo's for several weeks at least. Draco got away with a broken arm and a few bruised ribs.

"Were is Severus?" Dumbledore asked Harry in a panic, "I can't believe what he did…he transformed in a lion and then a wolf and then he just disappeared…"

Harry looked around. "Severus!" he called.

They both startled when the Potions Master appeared right in front of them.

"Are you ok, Albus?" he asked.

"I am, but what about you? You disappeared!"

Severus grinned. "Oh no, I was really close." Harry rolled his eyes. The relief began to wash over him.

"What did you change into?"

Severus shuffled his feet. "A flea," he admitted, "I jumped out of the way of the cruciatus, straight into Albus' beard."

Dumbledore looked at his beard in alarm. Harry roared with laughter.

"We won," he said, then looked at the three bodies covered in cloaks. "No more juniors in battle, Albus," he said, voice tight, "not before they are thoroughly trained."

He walked away.

"He gets like that after every battle where we lose someone," Dumbledore sighed. Then he put a hand on the potions masters' shoulder. "You saved me, my boy."

Severus smiled. "You saved me first."

They saw their tired friends being joined by Ministry personnel who took over cleaning up.

"Well," Dumbledore said, "It seems I have some reports to write."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Author relaxes and stretches lazily. Ah, the joys of being unstressed. Finally time to write. Thanks for bearing with me. **

**PS: remember what I said in the first chapter about liking extravagant displays of power? So far I've held back, but no longer!**

A week after the Ministry attack, Harry entered Dumbledore's office.

"Here are the last reports, sir. Neville is doing loads better, but he'll be stuck in St Mungo's for another week at least. His healer is worse then Madam Pomphrey, honestly…"

The headmaster chuckled.

"Don't let her hear you say that. How are the others?"

"Draco is fine, his bones were healed quickly and he was sore for a few days, but that's all. I've tried to talk to him about how he feels about his father's death, but all he says is that his father died to him a long time ago already. The others who were injured have been discharged as well, and are home recuperating. Except for Neville they should all be able to resume their normal duties by the end of the week, though I think we should not let them join any missions for a little while longer."

"I doubt there will be that many missions. It was quite a blow to Voldemort that we were waiting for him, armed and ready. Do you think he suspects your scar has anything to do with it?"

"I don't think so. If he tries to send me any visions, he should just notice the shields that keep him out. I'm always very careful not to let him notice me when I enter his mind. And Severus' mindlink helped a great deal this time."

Dumbledore nodded, and sighed. "How is he, Harry? I know I keep expecting too much, but I haven't heard from him all week…"

Harry sat down in one of the chairs. "He is doing well, but you have to understand that he takes one step back for every two steps forward. He will get there, eventually, but he has his ups and downs. He has withdrawn a bit this past week, even from Draco and me. This battle took a lot out of him, especially since some Order members took it upon themselves to harass him afterwards about how he tricked Voldemort and Lucius."

"What? Why? It was obvious that it was a trick, he saved my life!"

"Not to them, apparently. Anyway, Arthur and the Twins had a…chat…with those particular members and I daresay they will leave him alone from now on."

Dumbledore smiled. "Good. I will make it very clear at the next meeting, however, that such things are not going to be tolerated." He sobered.

"Harry, can I write Severus? Would he be ok with that?"

Harry hesitated. "I think so. Why don't you write him a note now? I'm going home anyway, I'll take it."

At that moment though, a familiar owl flew in through an opened window.

"Ah, Pothos. I'll wait a little longer, then." Harry grinned.

Dumbledore relieved the bird of the note and offered it a lemon drop. Upon receiving a sneer, he chuckled before turning his attention to the short note.

Harry stroked Pothos, who had landed on his shoulder.

"Good news?" he asked, when the headmaster smiled.

"He invited Minerva and myself over for dinner at your mansion tomorrow."

Harry's face brightened. "Ah, he's taking a few steps forward. I'm so glad he doesn't feel the need to ask my permission to invite people over anymore."

The Headmaster wrote a quick response and handed it to Harry.

"I was wondering something, though…why did you deposit some of the money I returned back into my account?"

Harry looked at him straight. "I am Mr Jones. I bought Severus' mansion, and sold it back to you so I could give him back both his house and some of his money. When you returned all his funds, we didn't think it was fair to keep the extra you paid for the house. So we returned it."

The Headmaster's eyes twinkled. "I should have known. But Harry, that means that basically, you are the only one who lost money over this."

Harry shrugged. "Compared to what I own, it was nothing. Severus hasn't realised it yet, and I'm not planning to bring it up. Basically you lost the most, but you'll excuse me if I'm not all that concerned about that."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I didn't lose money. We had no right to take Severus' money in the first place."

Harry got up. "Well, that's true. I'm going back to the house now, I'm supposed to meet Severus. Something he wants to show me, he says. Maybe he exploded his first cauldron…"

Dumbledore laughed. "He demolished dozens of cauldrons over the years, it would definitely not be his first. When he was experimenting with the Wolfsbane potion, he had to order a new cauldron every other day or so."

Harry's eyes gleamed. "Oh, I am so going to tease him with that…"

At the Mansion 

"Hey, Sev. What did you want to show me?"

Severus led Harry down to the training room.

"I've never been a good teacher, Harry, but this time is going to be different. I'm going to train you."

Harry grinned. "In what? Occlumency?"

Severus glared, then his face relaxed, though he kept a very serious look. "That is what gave me the idea, really. You are very advanced in Occlumency and Legimency. Can you do wandless and silent magic?"

Harry shook his head. "Only a bit, simple summoning and levitation spells. I've been training, but I don't seem to get on with it."

"How are you training it?"

"I don't know, I just try to tap deeper into my magical core I guess."

Severus nodded. "I thought so. It's quite a feat that you can manage to do simple spells wandlessly if you only use your core. See, the key for wandless and silent magic is not your core. Your core is your supply of magical energy. HOW you tap into that is what defines the kind of magic you use. Most wizards use a wand and spells, because that is the easiest way. You don't need anything for that except a wand and some practice. Think of your magical core as a large deposit of raw gems in the rocks. To get them out, and to use them, shape them into precious stones, you need tools. A wand is like dynamite. You plug into the rock, blow the thing up, and presto. But there are other tools, that require more patience, more skill, but are very rewarding because they leave all the gems intact. Well, as with most analogies, this one isn't perfect, but you get my point, right?

Harry nodded. "To do wandless and silent magic, I need a different tool then my wand."

"Exactly! And the tool you need for that is right inside your own head. Magic, despite what your friend Hermione thinks, is something that can be studied, analysed, but the actual use of it will always remain a matter of feeling. Intuition. A lot of sweat, of course, that too, but basically, when it comes down to it, that's what it is. A muggle could study magic, could know everything there is to know about it, but would still be unable to even charm a feather. When you use a wand and spells, you channel the magic from your core through your wand and shape it into what you want it to do by the words you say. Magic in itself is not good or evil, Harry. It is the words and the intent of the caster that make it what it is. Now, your new tool will be your brain. You already mastered Occlumency, which should help you greatly. I'm impressed, actually, that you can already do some wandless magic without the right tool. I am confident that once you have that tool, you will be very powerful."

Harry wasn't convinced, but willing to learn. "How much can you do wandlessly?" he asked, curious.

Shrugging, Severus answered: "Everything that can be accomplished by spells. Theoretically, it should be possible to advance beyond the limitations of what spells can do, but I haven't managed it yet. Maybe you will. Anyway, the 'tool' you need resembles the one you use for Occlumency and Legimency. In the case of Legimency, you force your mind into another persons mind. You can use that same force to draw from your core and let the magic work for you. Eventually you will see that your core and the tool melt, and your core will no longer be a separate part of you. Why don't you try it? Use Legimency on your core. If it doesn't work, adjust the tool until it feels 'right' to work with. Don't worry if it doesn't work the first few times."

Harry furrowed his brow in concentration and tried to pick up one of the weights he used to train with. It moved slightly, but didn't get off the ground.

"Very good," Severus said, "Not at all bad for the first time."

Harry growled. "It just doesn't feel right. I wish I could just watch you do it so I can see how it's done…"

His face brightened. "If we mindlinked, would I be able to see how you do it?"

Severus raised is eyebrows. "I never thought of that…" he stroked his chin with a finger. "It might work. We can at least try. Just remember that your 'tool' may not be the same as mine."

Harry nodded. "I know, but it would give me at least some idea of what I'm looking for. Hey, if we stay linked, you could see directly what I'm trying to do and tell me exactly what I should or shouldn't do!"

Severus smiled at his enthusiasm. "A very good idea. I'll link now, ok?"

Harry watched in amazement when he saw inside Severus. The man indeed no longer HAD a magical core; he WAS his magical core.

"Now Harry," he heard inside his mind, "watch this."

The weight lifted from the ground and started an intricate dance with one of the javelins. A pair of boxing gloves joined them. Harry saw that Severus was indeed using his mind to control his core, and his core co-operated with his mind in almost fluent unity. Finally Severus put the stuff down.

"Now you try."

Harry, now having an idea what he was looking for, gave up trying so hard to control his core with his mind; instead he began to probe it, looking for co-operation. His core responded and a bucket nearby began to slowly transfigure into an armchair.

"My, you go straight for the big stuff, don't you?" he heard Severus' amused voice in his head, "never mind the simple charms, right on to transfiguration!"

Harry wanted to grin, when he felt a weird sensation. His core seemed to grow and grow, and he felt himself lifted into the air as an unbearable heat raced through his body. It took all of his courage not to cry out, and then it was over. He dropped onto a mattress and passed out.

"Harry! HARRY!" Someone was, really annoyingly, tapping his face.

"Ger off me," he groaned, batting at the hand.

"Come on, wake up," he heard a very relieved and happy voice say. Severus?

Harry sighed. If Severus was relieved and happy he should probably wake up to see why that was. It wasn't a common occurrence after all.

"Severus?" He sat up. "What happened?"

The Potions Master helped him sit up and gave him a glass of water. He took a sip and slowly his memory returned.

"What happened? I remember thinking I'd burn alive…"  
"Yes, that was what it felt like for me too," the elder wizard said brightly.

Harry groaned. "I take it it's a good thing, then? I mean…if it can make you sound THIS happy…"

"Harry, I didn't expect this to happen right away or I would have warned you. It took me months to get that far, you must be even more powerful then I thought. Your mind and your core melted. Go take a look."

Harry cast him a look of disbelief, then he sighed and turned his mind inwards. He nearly jumped.

"I look like you now!" He said, "I am all magic now."

Severus scowled. "You do NOT look like me, Mr Potter!" then he helped Harry up and looked at him proudly.

"Very well done, Harry. Now, try something."

Harry thought of summoning a book. Immediately they were pelted with what looked like half the library. Instinctively, Harry created a shield around him and Severus, knocking all the books into the far wall.

His eyes widened and he stopped trying.

Severus brushed off his robes and looked at the pile. "I guess we need to work on control a bit," he said casually.

Harry felt ecstatic. This was wonderful!

"When I've trained a bit more, can we duel wandlessly too?" he asked, eager.

"Absolutely. But I prefer you work on refining your control first, I don't want to be blown to bits when you only mean to disarm me. I don't think I could bear the shame."

Dobby appeared.

"Harry, Harry! The wards is all going crazy!"

Severus nodded. "That was to be expected. The wards are tied to you. With your increase in power, so did they. They'll calm down once the magic in you settles."

"Can you show me some more? Please?" Severus burst out laughing. Harry so much resembled a small boy, bouncing on his feet and large, pleading eyes, that he demonstrated a few more things and then helped Harry practice.

At the end of the session they summoned down some butterbeers and leaned back contently.

"So, Severus," Harry said, teasing, "I hear you are having a party tomorrow. Let me remind you, young man, no loud music, no booze, and curfew is at 11."

Severus turned scarlet. "I would have asked you but I didn't know if they'd come and I was going to invite you, really!" he said.

Harry laughed. "Merlin, Severus, your face is redder then Ron's when Hermione catches him doing something stupid. Actually I was with Dumbledore when your note came, he gave me this note."

Severus opened it. "Minerva is out of town for a few days, but he is coming," he said.

The whole next day they practised. Harry, thanks to his Occlumency studies, soon controlled his new powers and had a lot of fun using them.

"Is it possible to use both a wand and wandless magic at the same time?" he asked, "they're different tools, would it be possible to use two different tools at once?"

Severus shrugged. "Don't know, I never tried. I trained in Azkaban without my wand and I haven't used it yet since Minerva returned it."

Harry nodded and tucked it away for future reference.

Finally, in the late afternoon they decided they were ready for a duel.

They dressed in Harry's battle outfit (which he preferred to robes). Black pants, kneehigh dragonhide boots and a dragonhide vest, leaving the arms bare.

"There is a sidepocket for a wand in the pants," Harry said, "but because most wizards wear wandholsters on their arms, walking around with bare arms gives your opponent the idea that you are unarmed. Of course, with this wandless magic, that level of deception even increases."

Severus nodded and tied his hair back in a ponytail, as did Harry.

They bowed and then the fun began. They were pretty evenly matched. Harry's power was greater, but Severus was a very strong wizard too, and more experienced. They literally danced around each other. Harry noticed that he had to work on his duelling techniques. This new use of magic meant he didn't have to point anything at his opponent; he worked only with his mind. That left his entire body free to dive out of the way of hexes. Severus had clearly been practising on that as well; Harry hardly hit him at all.

None of them noticed the Headmaster coming in, having been shown in by Dobby. The old wizard watched the intricate dance in amazement.

Harry began to forget even thinking of the name of a spell; he merely thought of what he wanted to accomplish. Up until that moment, the bright flashes of light that normally accompanied a spell disappeared. Severus' eyes widened when he felt the results without ever having seen anything coming. The spell knocked him over, but not out. He grinned and held up his hands in surrender.

"Excellent, Harry, truly exceptional!" he said, "Remember what I told you yesterday about going beyond the limitations of spellwork? I think you have just proven you are well on your way to doing that! You have to teach me how!"

A soft cough at the door caught turned their attention to the gaping headmaster.

The Headmaster didn't regain his speech until Harry and Severus had cleaned up and changed into robes, and they were all seated at the dining table.

"How…when…" were the first words the ancient Wizard uttered.

"Good evening, professor Dumbledore, nice to see you too," Harry smirked.

Severus' face showed the same smirk. "Honestly, Albus, you taught me the first bits of wandless magic yourself, why are you so surprised?"

Dumbledore glared. "Because that was nothing compared to what I saw the two of you do just now! You were a menace with wandless magic when I first began to teach you!"

"Oh, just because I threw over a few of your instruments."

"AND set my beard on fire!"

Harry doubled over in laughter.

They chatted a little over everyday things during dinner, all avoiding painful issues. Until the room suddenly went dark.

"Ack!" Harry said, "Been having that a few times since yesterday. Apparently occasionally the increased power of both me and the wards cause all the lights in the house to go out simultaneously."

He waved his hand and the light returned. It was then that they noticed Severus curling in a corner.

Harry cursed. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and moved to the trembling figure.

"What's wrong, Harry?" his voice was painted with concern.

"He's having a flashback," Harry said, "he gets them occasionally. Different things trigger them; this time the sudden dark."

He carefully approached the trembling man and spoke softly to him, rubbing his shoulder and back. It took a long time for the shaking to stop. When the body unclenched and went limp, Harry picked him up and tucked him in on the couch. Then he looked up at Dumbledore.

"Well, Headmaster, here you see a bit of what Azkaban has done to him. I suppose you understand now why he has such a hard time to forgive and forget."

The headmaster rested his hand on the dark hair of the sleeping man and nodded sadly.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Hey all! Thanks for the nice reviews. Deborah in LA: Yes, I know where LA is (grins) I've been studying the map of the USA lately…I know where most of the states are now! Anyway, I'm not in Deutschland (assuming you meant Germany with that) I'm Dutch and am, therefore, in the Netherlands. (Or Holland, although that's is technically not true as Holland is the name for the western part of the country and I'm in the east. But, trivial detail).**

Harry sighed.

"When he wakes up, stay out of his way," he warned the headmaster, who was sitting on the edge of the couch, holding one of the Potions Master's cold hands.

Dumbledore looked up, a hurt and puzzled look in his eyes. Harry picked up his explanation.

"He will be very angry when he wakes up. These episodes scare him and leave him a bit unbalanced for a while. He gets angry because it makes him feel weak, and right now he will probably be even more upset because you saw his 'weakness' as he calls it. He is a bit impatient with his recovery."

Dumbledore sighed and stroked strands of hair from the pale face.

"I understand. I'd give anything to help him, but I don't know if I can."

Harry poured them both a firewhiskey and shook his head. "You can't help him until he lets you help him."

A twinkle suddenly reappeared in the headmaster's eyes. "He lets you help him," the old man remarked.

"He didn't have an awful lot of choice in the matter," Harry replied, "I was the only one he could turn to, and even he realised he was far to weak to fend for himself. By the time his health had improved, he was so used to me that he didn't mind anymore."

The aged wizard smiled wryly. "I've been trying to get the two of you to respect each other for five years when you were at school. I'm glad you get along now, even though I wish none of this had ever happened."

Harry was about to reply when a soft moan indicated Severus was waking up. When the dark eyes opened, Dumbledore retreated back to the dining table, while Harry helped the ill man up.

"Are you ok?"

"I just had another one of those bloody flashbacks, Potter, how ok do you think I am?" the man snarled, batting Harry's hands away as he tried to help him stand.

Then he noticed the Headmaster.

"Had fun?" he asked coldly, "enjoyed the spectacle? I guess you got your wish, I'm in that godforsaken place for the rest of my life." He stalked from the room.

Dumbledore wiped at a tear that had leaked out without permission.

Harry patted his shoulder. "He'll come around soon enough, he needs a little time now to recuperate. How about we have a drink and a game of chess? We'll leave dessert for when Severus is ready to rejoin us."

A little over an hour and two sound defeats for Harry later, the door opened and Severus came back in.

"I'm sorry," he said to Dumbledore, "I shouldn't have said that."

"Severus," Dumbledore breathed, cupping the pale face in his hands, "my boy, you have nothing to be sorry for."

For a moment Harry thought the Potions Master would launch himself into Dumbledore's arms, but it passed. Nodding curtly, Severus stepped back and looked at the third game of chess that had just started and the cleaned table.

"I suppose you didn't save me any dessert, then?" he sneered.

Harry huffed. "We didn't have dessert yet, we waited for you. Dobby will probably bring it up any minute now."

Severus smirked. "Good, because I asked Dobby to bring every kind of lemony dessert he could find."

Harry and he both grinned at the look of delight on the Headmaster's face.

Over the next three months, Dumbledore found out that Harry's description of 'two steps forward, one step back' was quite accurate. Severus replied to his letters, but hardly ever initiated contact with him, came to one or two really important Order meetings with Harry but didn't actually speak much.

They had forbidden Dumbledore to tell anyone of their accomplishments in training. Draco and Harry had been practising as well at Hogwarts, using the Chamber of Secrets. Draco had a lot more trouble then Harry and Severus with the wandless magic, but he was nevertheless progressing steadily. Harry guessed he was now up to first year spells, which wasn't that much use in battle but could still give the advantage of surprise. He did help Harry a lot in training his duelling techniques.

Back at the manor, Severus and Harry duelled each day, not only learning each others strengths and weaknesses, but also began to function as a team.

After a hard evening of training, they were having their usual butterbeer down in the training room.

"Next month, it'll be a year since I escaped Azkaban," Severus remarked one day.

Harry nodded. "I know. You look a whole lot better then you did then," he said, swigging butterbeer.

"No, really?" Severus said sarcastically. Then he sighed. "I guess I do, don't I? Actually, I don't think I ever been this healthy in my life. Dobby may be a menace, but he did feed me up allright."

"I is hearing that," Dobby's voice came from somewhere above them, "professor Snape better be nice or no dessert tonight!"

Harry chuckled. "I'll keep him in line, Dobby," he yelled back.

"And I haven't had a flashback in a month," Severus continued, ignoring Dobby completely, "I'm now even more powerful then I could imagine a year after my imprisonment."

"That is true. We're not bad as a team either. Who knows, maybe our joining forces is the 'Power the Dark Lord knows not' he would definitely not be expecting it."

"He would by now," Severus pointed out, "but the kind of power we have, YOU have, that is something he should be very surprised by. His ability for wandless magic is about as good as Dumbledore's."

"How do you feel about him now?"

Severus sighed. "I don't know. Part of me wants to run into his arms and tell him I want to rebuild our previous relationship. I want to be his son again. But whenever that part of me does something remotely reconciliatory, the part of me that is always scared of being betrayed again yanks me back, screaming at me to be careful and not to trust anyone. I must be frustrating him to no end."

Harry shrugged. "He understands, and if he doesn't, well, don't let it rush you. But in the end any relationship is a risk, Severus, even under normal circumstances. It will never be one hundred percent safe."

"I trust you that much. And Draco. Not to mention Dobby."

"Yes, and I am very pleased that you do, but you have never lost us, unlike Dumbledore."

"So you're saying I should get over it and just plunge back into that relationship?"

Harry got up from the floor. "I'm saying you should take all the time you need to make that decision, Severus. But in the end, you'll have to decide. For your own peace of mind, and his."

For the third time in a year, Harry was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of a ward going off. Dobby and Severus came pelting into the hall as he rushed out of his room, magicking himself into battle gear.

"What is it?"

"The Burrow. The ward I set on the Burrow is down. It's under attack, I've gotta go there."

"Wait," Severus said, waving over his pyjamas and transfiguring them into battle gear as well, "I'm coming with you."

When they arrived at the Burrow, it took them only a few seconds to assess what was going on. Arthur, Bill and Charlie were battling seven Death Eaters on the lawn. The Twins were protecting Hermione, who was holding her daughter tightly to her chest with one hand while brandishing a wand with the other, but there wasn't much she could do attack wise, with the toddler in her arms. Five more Death Eaters threatened that small group.

Severus and Harry shared a look and linked their minds.

Harry apparated next to the Twins and Hermione, facing the Death Eaters.

"Hi guys," he said to the black robed figures, "miss me?"

With that, he pulled Fred and George back. "Help Hermione," he said, while conjuring a strong shield around all three. Then he sent a huge wave of force at the Death Eaters. Two were not in time to raise their shields and dropped like flies, clearly dead.

The other three were knocked off their feet, but quickly stood up, sending three Killing Curses at Harry, who had taken a stance so that he could avoid being hit without having to worry about the curses hitting anyone else.

One Death Eater dropped to his knees, bent over in pain and clearly unable to move his limbs. The other two stared in horror. Harry had not moved. He had not even spoken. He didn't even have a wand!

As the Twins and Hermione watched in utter amazement, the other two Death Eaters suddenly struggled against invisible bonds, until they went limp and lost consciousness.

"Stay here and protect Hermione and the baby in case more arrive," Harry yelled, as he ran around the house to the lawn where the others were still fighting, "I'm going to help the others."

As he arrived at the battle, three Death Eaters were already down, one out, one dead and one so severely wounded he didn't bother fighting anymore.

Harry and Severus smiled. They teamed up and began their dance, as they had done dozens of times in training. The Death Eaters were no match for them. Soon only two remained.

Then Harry saw Arthur and his sons pale. On the edge of the lawn, three hooded figures had arrived. Dementors.

"Back!" Harry yelled at the Weasleys.

Severus trembled. His mind was closed against the effects of the Dementors…but not against the flashback they were causing. Harry sensed the trouble through the mindlink.

"Severus, no, stay in the present. You are not in Azkaban anymore! You can defend yourself against them."

Severus dropped to his knees as the Dementors approached, panting, desperately trying not to black out. He heard Harry's encouraging words through their link, but he was unable to stop the memories from flooding through his head.

_They had grabbed him roughly and dragged him from his chair, Moody watching in delight._

"_Murderer!"_

"_Traitor!"_

"_The Kiss is too good for you! Rot in hell!"_

_The Order members yelled. Some spat at him, and he just didn't understand what was going on. What had happened?_

_Then he saw his mentor, and felt relief. Albus was here. He was safe. Albus would help him and sort this out. He looked up into the blue eyes and felt like a dozen bludgers hit him all at once. There was nothing in Albus' eyes but disgust. _

"_Take him to Azkaban," the old wizard said, and too stunned to resist he moved as five or six sets of hands pushed, pulled and kicked him forward, out of the school, mercifully empty this late at night, and to Azkaban…_

He saw the Dementors approach and wanted to get up, wanted to help Harry… 

_He had always attempted not to scream when Voldemort tortured him. He would NOT scream now. His arms ached, all his muscles felt torn. His wrists were bloody with the chains that bound him to the wall cutting into them. His tormentors seemed to have forgotten that they were wizards, and had simply beaten and kicked him. Now he was left alone._

_He knew it wouldn't take long, though. Soon, he heard a noise and looked up, struggling to open his swollen black eye. _

_Five wands were pointed at him. Ah, they DID remember now…_

_He didn't have time to compliment them on that when the first curses flew and the pain started all over again._

He curled up in a ball, knowing he was in that cold cell, alone, abandoned, for ever… Then finally everything went black. 


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Barbarataku: yup, I'm a Christian and Theology student as well as a huge Harry Potter fan. Don't be surprised; there are more of us around. While Jesus will always take first place, I'm more then happy to make some room in my life for Harry too (and Severus of course! –grins-).**

When he opened his eyes, he didn't recognise the room. Not his prison cell. Oh wait, he had escaped…Harry…manor….slowly the memories came back to him.

Harry! He had left Harry to fight alone when he should have been there!

He tried to climb out of the bed when he felt gentle hands taking his shoulders and he was pushed back.

"Harry, I have to get to Harry…Dementors…"

"Easy, Severus, the Dementors are gone." Harry's voice.

He stared at the face in front of him, trying to dispel the fog from his mind. Harry's face appeared through the mist.

"Harry…" he whispered, turning away and curling up in a ball again, "I'm so sorry."

A hand took his shoulder and pulled him on his back. Harry forced him to look him in the eye.

"Severus, it's ok, I understand. It really is no wonder three of them would cause a flashback. I dealt with them, thanks to your training they don't affect me anymore."

The Potions Master saw the honest green eyes and sighed. "Is everyone ok?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, the Order arrived a few minutes after I got rid of the Dementors. You are in the guestroom at the moment, Percy's old room. Hermione patched Bill and Arthur up, they had a few cuts but that's all. They're all downstairs, I tried to take you home but they won't allow it, they insist on thanking you personally."

Severus groaned. "I did nothing, I just passed out when I saw those Dementors."

"I wouldn't say that," Arthur's voice came from the door, "We were outnumbered 2 to 1, even more when you consider Hermione wasn't really in a position to fight, having to protect little Molly. We would be dead if it weren't for you. And Harry, of course," he added as an afterthought.

Harry grinned happily.

Severus slowly sat up. "Can you give me a few minutes by myself?" he asked, "before I have to meet the whole gang downstairs?"

After they had left him, he stood in front of the window and looked out over the garden. The gnomes that had been the bane of Molly's existence were nowhere in sight. He suspected her sons vigorously degnomed the garden regularly these days in her memory.

From downstairs he could hear the voices of the Weasleys and Harry, as well as Albus. He sighed. Harry was right. He had to decide once and for all.

A while later he slowly climbed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where the whole gang had gathered. Harry, who had been watching the door, saw him first and smiled. He walked to his side, preferring to be near to Harry when the lot of them realised he had joined them.

Hermione approached him, with the little girl on her hip.

"Thank you so much, sir," she said, tears in her eyes, "I was terrified they would hurt Molly. And…and…I'm so sorry…"

He cut her off quickly. "That's ok, Miss Gran…Mrs Weasley." He looked at the child, who was studying him intensely, not afraid at all. The violent red hair readily identified her as a Weasley, and even in the childs face he could see the grandmother.

To his surprise, she reached out her little hands to him, and without thinking, he took her. "Hello Molly," he said hoarsely, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Severus."

"Sef?" the child asked. Harry chuckled behind him, and he shot him a glare.

"Don't mind your uncle Harry," he said to the toddler, "he seems to have trouble remembering people's full names."

"Awy," Molly said, clapping her hands. Severus grinned and handed her back to her mother. "She…she really does look a lot like her grandmother," he hesitatingly remarked.

Arthur beamed at him. "Yes she does," he said, cuddling his granddaughter, "We're so proud of our little girl."

"Enough with the mushy stuff," George said.

"What we really want to know…" Fred supplied

"Is how you and Harry did…what you did." They asked, turning to their two rescuers.

"We've been training a bit," Harry confessed.

The twins rolled their eyes. "It was much more then that! We never even saw either of you draw a wand."

"It seems our secret is out, Harry," Severus collapsed on a chair, "we might as well come clean. But don't go spreading the word!" He urged everyone, "It's important to keep it hidden."

Harry nodded. "We've been practising wandless magic," he said, "And we've become quite adept at it."

"Understatement of the year," Charlie muttered, "I've never seen anything like it. We would be dead if it weren't for the two of you." He held out his hand to them. "Thank you so much."

Dumbledore sat in a corner, smiling serenely, but occasionally casting a concerned glance at the Potions Master.

Severus sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you with those Dementors," he stared at the floor, "what happened to them, anyway?"

The whole room chuckled. "Well, apparently Harry has overcome his sensitivity to their proximity," Bill said, "He walked up to them and told them to 'shoo' if I remember correctly…"

Harry grinned. "Erm, yes. Severus taught me how to shut my mind to them. I always wanted to tell them that once, and now I got the chance!"

"They didn't listen to him, though…" Fred said, making a dramatic gesture,

"So Harry cast a Patronus…" George explained,

"But it wasn't his normal Patronus," Fred frowned.

Harry shrugged. "I can change my Patronus now. Something that came with the wandless magic. I thought the one I used was much more appropriate, don't you think?"

Arthur laughed.

"Oh yes, I will never forget those Dementors running…or gliding, for their lives, chased by a spectral Cerberus."

Severus' head shot up. "Fluffy? You chased them off with Fluffy?" he asked, unconsciously rubbing his leg where the Cerberus had once bitten him.

Harry nodded. "Hmm, yes. He really isn't so bad once you get to know him," he said.

Arthur sat next to Severus. "At any rate, we owe you two a great deal. We can never repay you enough for your help. When they came…the thought of losing any more of my family was unbearable..." he trailed off, glancing at his children and resting on the little girl that bore his wife's name.

"It's part of war, Arthur," Harry said, "we save each other's life constantly, in almost every battle."

"I know Harry," Arthur said, "I wouldn't have it any other way, you are just as much my son as this lot. But Severus…" he turned to the Potions Master, who now looked rather nervous, "you had no reason to help us. In fact, you had more reason then most to just leave us to them, after what we did to you."

Severus swallowed and looked around the kitchen.

"I don't think so, Arthur," he said softly, "as I've told you and the twins, I never really blamed you for throwing me in Azkaban. I…it's been a year now since I got out, and I think I'm finally ready to move on, at least with the people in this room…" he looked straight at Dumbledore, "without reservations. Just don't expect me to be all nice and cheerful…"

"We wouldn't dream of it," said Fred,

"We'd be sorely disappointed if you were," George added,

"Can't just take our git of a Potions Master from us," Fred declared,

"We need someone to test our gags on after all," his twin managed before they ducked under the table.

Severus stared at the spot where the two red heads had been only a few seconds before. Then he snorted and started to chuckle.

"Ok, but only if you let me help you with improving them," he said.

Fred and George emerged, looking totally surprised.

"Why, of course," they finally managed, "if you will teach us the stuff you taught Harry? Please?"

Dumbledore backed this up. "It would indeed be good if you and Harry could teach some others, Severus. There can't be that many Death Eaters left now, we are bound to encounter more and more Dark creatures now that Voldemort's other resources have been depleted."

Severus noticed that no one in the room flinched at the name. Harry grinned when he saw Severus' surprised look.

"No, everyone is used to hearing Voldemorts name now, Sev."

Charlie laughed. "Harry was so sick and tired of seeing the whole room flinch at Order meetings whenever Voldemort's name was used, that he locked us all up after one meeting and shouted the name about two hundred times until nobody flinched anymore. Then he ordered us to do the same. We were in there for three hours, but nearly everyone was cured of our allergy for that name."

Harry beamed. "My next project is to teach them to call him Tom, just to piss him off. But what do you say to their request, Severus? It does make sense."

"It does," the Potions Master agreed, "Though I'm not sure how well they'll do on the wandless magic. Draco has been practising for over two months now and although he progresses, it is slow going. But yes, Occlumency would be useful to learn, especially to protect them from Dementors."

They left soon after.

"We're not staying the night either," Bill said, "Hermione and Molly will stay at the Twins place and Dad'll crash with me and Charlie for the night, just to be on the safe side. Ron shouldn't be back until next week, that's why Hermione and Molly were staying here. Tomorrow I'll work on the wards so it's safe here again."

They apparated off.

Severus turned to the headmaster. "Albus, would you…do you have time to come with us? To erm…you know, discuss the training plans and all…"

Harry and Dumbledore shared an amused glance.

"Of course, Severus," Dumbledore said, "Would you mind if I stayed at your place tonight, then, Harry?"

Harry smiled. "Of course not. I'll make sure we put you in a nicer room then last time."

Dumbledore grimaced.

They apparated to the manor.

"So, Draco, the twins, Bill, Charlie and Arthur."

Severus nodded. "I'm sorry, Albus, but I can't handle the others yet. Harry can instruct them in Occlumency. Let me train these six, they have the most potential for wandless magic anyway."

Dumbledore smiled. "That's ok, Severus. Now, would you prefer they train here?"

"Harry's training room is big enough…but maybe we can use the Room of Requirement on occasion?"

"Of course. That's done then. I can't wait to see how they will do in their training. Would you mind if I sat in every now and then?"

Severus shook his head. "Of course not. But only if you don't hold me responsible if your beard catches fire."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Very well then. Severus…" his voice lost the playful tone and the twinkle in his eyes dimmed, "Did you mean what you said earlier…about moving on without reservations?"

Harry quietly left the room without the other two noticing.

Severus sighed. "Yes, I did mean that. I felt torn, between part of me that wanted to rebuild our relationship, and part of me that is just very frightened at that thought. Harry said I should take my time, but in the end I would have to choose. So today, after that flashback, I made that choice. I'm very scared now, but I want…I want to start over again…father."

Harry, peeking around the door, saw the headmaster grabbing Severus in a tight hug, papers scattering over the floor. He grinned.

Voldemort was in so much trouble with those two reunited.


	14. Chapter 14

**SeverusPhoenix: **Well yeah, it's our job, you know, as christians, to believe that no one is beyond redemption. (though I'll have to do a proper exegesis to see if that goes for fictional characters too) ;-)

**Dark jo** awww thanks for the compliment

**Bleudiablo **I'm writing, I'm writing!

**Sorry it took so long to update, but I was out of the country for a couple of days.**

Arthur Weasley roared with laughter as Severus Snape threw his twin sons across the (thankfully padded) room after they'd tried to sneak up on him.

"You really should know better, boys," he snickered when the twins got up, chagrined.

"We thought we'd stand a fair chance…"

"If he didn't know we were coming."

Harry, who was training with Charlie and Bill, grinned at the twins indignation.

"Hey Harry," Charlie said, "Could we see you and Severus duel sometime? That should be quite a sight to see."

Dumbledore, who was sitting in on this session, nodded enthusiastically.

Harry looked at Severus, who shrugged and nodded.

"Fine. But you should know that the more we learn to go beyond the limit of spells, the more boring the duelling becomes; you simply can't see what we are doing anymore."

"Beyond spells?" Bill asked.

"Yes," Harry said, "Like this," and at that moment Bill started to float through the air.

"Instead of casting a spell, we simply think of what we want to do. You don't see anything, you don't hear anything."

"Like those Deatheaters at the Burrow," Fred said.

"You bested them without even lifting a finger."

Harry nodded. "We've been training since then, and Severus is progressing towards that now, too."

"Can we see?" Six pairs of eyes, seven when counting the headmaster, were turned to Harry and Severus.

They grinned and nodded.

"Very well, stand back."

The seven spectators sat along one wall, and Harry put up a shield in front of them so they wouldn't accidentally get hit.

"Just the spells, please, Harry, or you'll knock me out in the first ten seconds."

Harry nodded, and conjured up a shield when a hex suddenly came flying his way.

"Not bad," he commented, "try to think on what you wanted to accomplish with it, not the incantation."

Severus scowled. Within months, he had gone from teacher to student, and he wasn't always happy about it.

He glared at Harry, and the seven spectators suddenly howled with laughter as Harry's battle gear disappeared and he was left in his boxers and shirt.

Harry snorted. "Very good, Severus," he admitted, as his gear reappeared with a mere thought, "though I'm not sure about the combat value of this…"

Severus began to get the hang of it, though, through his frustration, and soon Harry was giggling like mad as he felt a tickling sensation all over his body. A very pale, hardly visible light sped towards him. Harry lowered all shields and let it through. The Sectumsempra slashed his shoulder and he started bleeding.

"Severus, when you wrote that spell you had the end result in mind. Do the same now. Don't think of the process, think of the end result. Again."

This time there was no indication at all until Harry's forehead showed a gash and blood began to run down his face.

As soon as it started, the blood stopped and both wounds were gone.

"Excellent, Sev. Now, let the fun begin for real, right?"

With a feral grin Harry dodged a curse the others couldn't see, but Severus suddenly dropped to his knees, arms around his chest, moaning.

He recovered quickly, and another intricate dance began. The spectators never saw any spells. No light, no incantations. They knew there were shields in place because of the small bursts of magical energy that flew through the room as a curse was deflected, but other then that, it did look remarkably like dancing.

Finally the two stopped, shook hands and turned to their public.

"See, it's quite boring to watch once we get to this level," Harry explained.

The twins shook their heads. "Not at all! But how come you seem to know what is coming? We didn't see a thing."

Severus wiped the sweat from his forehead. "We are mindlinked during duels. Usually it's for training purposes, but also because we are learning to 'see' this kind of magic. If you ever face an opponent who can do this, you need to get into their minds to predict their next move."

After the training, Dumbledore stayed behind.

"Harry, I would like to join this training program," he said.

Harry raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Sure." He said at the same moment that Severus let out a sharp "No."

Harry turned around. "Why on earth not?"

Severus sneered. "The six we are training now aren't nearly ready yet. Besides, he is too old."

Dumbledore glared at him. "I may be old, but I'm not feeble yet, young man!"

"I still say no," Severus maintained. He avoided Harry's curious gaze.

The headmaster got annoyed. "I want to learn this. I know my magic is strong enough, even though I am substantially older then the rest of your group."

Severus headed for the door. "No. That is my final answer."

The door wouldn't open.

"Let me out, Harry," Severus said menacingly.

"Not until you tell us the real reason you don't want Albus to join," Harry calmly stated.

The Potions Master looked ready to punch him, but finally he gave in.

"I'm scared," he admitted, "you know what it felt like when our cores grew, Harry. We both passed out. The rest of the group isn't nearly there yet, but Albus is. We were young and still adapting to magic, but Albus is much older, and I'm not talking physically but magically…I'm afraid he could get very seriously hurt."

Harry sighed. "Then why didn't you just say so, you stubborn…Anyway, I can see your point but it is still Albus' decision, not yours."

Severus lowered his eyes. A hand came to rest on his shoulder and he looked up into the headmasters eyes.

"Thank you for your concern, my boy, but if I'm to be any help to Harry and you when you will face Tom, I need to do this. Even if it is dangerous. Will you help me?"

Severus rubbed his eyes. "Fine. FINE. I'll help. Draco has been nagging me for over a week now too, anyway. But you have to understand its risks, father! And once the process starts, I can do nothing to stop it if anything goes wrong."

"I know, child. But the confrontation with Tom is very close, and I need to be able to help you and Harry."

"You can't help us at all if you're dead," Severus said bluntly.

Harry paled. "Is it that risky?"

Severus nodded. "It's a possibility, a much greater possibility then it was with you or me. Much greater then it will be when Draco goes through this. I don't want to lose you so soon after we've finally settled our differences," he said to the headmaster.

"I know, child. I don't want to leave you yet, but I want to do whatever it takes to see both you and Harry safely through the final battle. What good would it be if I live, only to lose you on the battlefield because I couldn't help you? I must know that I did anything possible to help you."

They could see the battle behind the Potions Masters eyes, but in the end he conceded.

"I understand. Just…not today. I want both you and Draco to rest, eat well and use as little magic as possible for the next three days. I will give you energy potions. And Harry and I will mindlink to you and Draco so we can guide you through the process. That should make it easier on both of you then it was for us."

Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you, my boy."

"Well, if you bloody insist on doing this I might as well try not to get you killed," Severus growled.

Three days later Draco and the headmaster were well rested, well fed and full of energy thanks to the potions Severus had forced down their throats.

Harry had prepared the Room of Requirement; it was completely padded and the floor was soft.

Severus, still reluctant, entered last.

Harry shook his head. "Severus, I was unprepared and I survived."

The worried frown did not disappear. "I never intended for you to be unprepared, I didn't expect you to progress that fast."

He turned to the two. "Are you ready?" Upon receiving two nods, he sighed.

"Very well."

Harry watched in fascination as Severus started to work with the two. He hoped fervently that everything would be alright. His mind was linked to Draco and he could see the excitement as Draco managed to reach his magical core.

He watched in awe as both Draco and Dumbledore were levitated into the air as he had been. He remembered the burning sensation and shuddered. They both screamed with pain and Harry was thankful that the mindlink did not allow pain to pass to him.

Finally it was over and they both dropped onto the thankfully soft floor, unconscious.

Dumbledore groaned. His head felt ready to explode. A hand held a potion in front of his lips and a cold voice told him to drink it.

Immediately he felt his headache subside and he looked around.

He was in his own quarters, which surprised him. The last he remembered he had been in the Room of Requirement.

His vision cleared and he saw Harry sitting next to his bed. Severus was setting the now empty potions vile on the nightstand.

"How…how long…"

"Nearly a week," Harry answered, patting his hand.

"Draco?"

"Fine. He woke up after a few hours. He's playing with his new powers now."

"Why did it take me so long?"

Severus turned and glared at him, eyes redrimmed with tiredness, face pale and lips pressed together.

"Because, you bloody old fool, I had already WARNED you it was dangerous! We nearly lost you and it was two days before we were even certain you hadn't reduced yourself to a Squib! So will you shut up and get some rest?"

With that he stalked out of the room.

Harry sighed and smiled at Dumbledore's surprised and hurt face.

"He has been here, by your side, for the whole week, not sleeping and not eating unless we forced food down his throat. I think he blames himself in some ways for not insisting more or not helping you more. Ridiculous, but you know him."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Did it at least work?"

Harry shrugged. "Look inside, find your magical core."

He saw the Headmaster's eyes glaze over in concentration and when he heard the amazed sigh, he knew it had in fact, worked.

"Get some more sleep," Harry said, "you need to rest up and then the four of us will start training for real."

"Any news…of Tom?"

"Gathering forces, as we suspected. Dark creatures. More Death Eaters left then we thought, a lot of them foreigners. It will not be long before he will strike full strength for one last time. It'll come down to all or nothing all too soon I fear."

Severus walked back in, carrying a tray of food and set it on the bedside table. Harry got up.

"I promised Draco to mock duel with him. Glad you are doing better, sir. See you soon!"

He left the room.

Severus rubbed his eyes. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I'm sorry."

Dumbledore held out a hand. "Come here, child."

He pulled the tired man to sit next to him on the bed and let him rest his head against his shoulder.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Severus. Do you understand why I had to do this?"

The head nodded, eyes closed.

"You took care of me when I was going through withdrawal, when you still hated me. You took care of me this week. I want to make sure that when the time comes and Tom strikes, I can take care of you."

"I know," he heard him mumble, "was just 'fraid you got hurt…" he trailed off, sleep overtaking him.

Dumbledore chuckled, and waved his hand, removing shoes, covering him with a quilt and summoning the tray of food. He was famished. It surprised him how easy these actions were now. Training would be very interesting. Smiling at the sleeping man leaning against him, he started to eat the house elves' delicious cooking.

When Harry came back two hours later, he found them both in peaceful slumber.

Two days later Dumbledore was ready to start training. Severus had slept for most of those two days as well, and the four entered the training room expectantly. Draco had already done some training, and Dumbledore, because of his long experience, had much less trouble keeping his newfound powers under control.

Before long, the four could work together in perfect harmony. Harry undoubtedly was the strongest, but the other three were close behind.

"Do you think this is the power Voldemort knows not?" Harry asked Dumbledore one evening, while he let food appear on his plate with only a thought.

Dumbledore smiled.

"Your powers? No, however impressive they are, however mighty we have become, I think that the power Voldemort knows not has more to do with the fact that we are doing this together."

Upon seeing their confused faces, he went on.

"Don't you see, Harry? The four of us are working together, enjoying each others company. We care for each other. Would you have believed that when you were in school? Did you ever think that it was possible that one day, the four of us would share a dinner as friends?"

Harry smiled in understanding. "No, I never would have thought it possible," he admitted.

"My guess is, that this is the power Tom doesn't understand. He has no friends. He never had any friends. He does not love, or care for anyone but himself. He knows you are powerful, Harry, that is no secret to him. But he doesn't understand that people can call a truce," he looked at Draco, "make friends out of enemies, or forgive an offence against them," he said, smiling at the potions master and receiving a smile in return.

"I'm scared," Harry admitted, "even with Sev's help and this new power and you…I'm scared to go up against Voldemort, and scared I might lose you or any of the other people I love in battle."

Severus nodded. "There's no shame in that, Harry. It would be very strange if you weren't at least a bit nervous. I'm scared too. But it has to be done. And although the Prophecy says it has to be you who kills him, we will be right behind you and help you as much as we can."

Harry stared at his plate.

"It's near, isn't it?"

Draco uncharacteristically patted his shoulder.

"Yes, Harry. But you know, we're like the four musketeers now. All for one and one for all and all that. What?" he said indignantly upon receiving three surprised glances, "I have read muggle books!"


	15. Chapter 15

A/N **bows head** I am sorry. It's been a week since my last update. It's Coldfire's fault (points finger) for introducing me to a really good site.

_Severus looks at her sceptically_.

Well it IS really true! Really, it is!

The Order of the Phoenix had grown a lot over the past years, when it became more and more apparent that Voldemort really wasn't going to go away on his own.

Many of the students that graduated from Hogwarts joined, a lot of them had been too young to remember the peaceful times of Voldemort's dormancy, but they did long for a world in which they did not have to fear for their lives from infancy on. Many had lost relatives or friends to the war. Harry had become the second-in-command, had taken that post almost naturally over the years. It was him who was expected to defeat Voldemort. He had made it very clear to Dumbledore, the summer after Snape's arrest, that he was not going to sit idly while others suffered. The daring Gryffindor boy had grown into a calculating, capable leader.

Severus realized this during the meetings he attended with the Order. As he listened to Harry, he heard the voice of an experienced commander, even if the boy was barely twenty years old. He spoke of things that people three times his age had not seen or even imagined. Severus was torn between being proud of the awe-inspiring leader he saw, and weeping for the boy that had gotten lost in all the war activities.

He knew Albus felt the same way. When he looked at the face of Remus Lupin, he suspected the man had the same thoughts as the two of them.

Remus Lupin.

He was terrified of the man. Had been since his sixth year, though he never admitted it. Oh, the man himself wasn't scary. In fact, Remus Lupin was the only one of the Marauders that he had more or less forgiven for the torment in his youth.

Although he had accepted that the man had not known of the prank Black had played on him, the werewolf still haunted his nightmares. Even in Azkaban. Especially in Azkaban.

He contemplated this during a training session. Albus and he were sitting on the side, watching Harry and Draco duel. He cast a sideways glance at the old man. Albus had always forbidden him from talking about that incident. He had no one to turn to. Harry knew about it, of course, but Remus was the only godfather Harry had left. It wouldn't be fair to talk to Harry about it.

He shook his head. He could deal with the werewolf. They didn't meet all that often, and when they did, they simply exchanged polite greetings. The werewolf had thought him guilty, he knew, but he had never tried to pressure Harry into believing the same thing, and even covered up for him while he was still hunting Lucius Malfoy.

He had asked Minerva about it a long time ago, a few years after he had come to teach at Hogwarts. She had been very reluctant to talk about it, but finally admitted that keeping Sirius in school had not been her idea. He also learned that Sirius had not escaped completely unpunished; Minerva had made him research what the Ministry did to werewolves who had been caught killing someone, thus pointing out to him what would have happened to Remus had his 'joke' gone wrong.

Despite everything, he hoped that Lupin hadn't read it all. He had thanked Minerva at the time, and it had been the start of a…not a friendship; he didn't do friends at that time, but a feeling of respect that was based on more then her position or age.

"Sickle for your thoughts," Dumbledore interrupted his musings.

Severus shrugged. "Nothing. Nothing you'd want to pay a sickle for, anyway," he said, sneering just the tiniest bit.

Dumbledore frowned.

"I'm sure I would pay more then a sickle, Severus."

The Potions Master gave him a sceptic look but said nothing. When Harry and Draco were done, he took the opportunity to practice a bit with the younger Slytherin.

Harry sat down next to the Headmaster. "In for some sparring, sir?" he offered, drinking some water.

"Hmmm? Oh, sorry Harry, I was…"

"Lost in thought," Harry said, "Yes, I noticed. What's wrong?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I don't know. Sometimes I feel like Severus and I are closer now then we were before…before Azkaban, and on days like these, when he obviously is keeping something from me, I am reminded that we're still doing the 'two steps forward, one step back' thing."

Harry shrugged. "That's only to be expected. His trust in you has been shattered, completely and utterly, and he has, on some points, never been able to trust you at all."

Dumbledore looked up in surprise. "Like what?"

Harry drank some more. "My father. Sirius. Even Remus, to some extend. He has always taken second place whenever they were in sight. Oh, he never talks to me about it anymore, don't worry. He never bad mouths my father or godfathers anymore. But it is obvious those years have hurt him, and Azkaban can only have increased that. You handled that situation extremely badly when they were at school, headmaster."

"Albus, Harry, Albus. And you are right. I never allowed him to talk about it, especially not the Shrieking Shack incident…"

Harry's head jerked up in surprise. "You never let him talk about that? To anyone? Not even you? He didn't get any help at all?"

Dumbledore lowered his eyes at the young man's accusing glare and shook his head.

"No. The first weeks after it happened he tried to talk to me about it, but I told him it was basically his own fault and he had to get over it."

Harry paled. "Oh Merlin, no wonder he hated Dad and Sirius. He must be terrified of Remus. I know it took Ron, Hermione and me some time to get over facing the werewolf, and WE are his friends."

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I don't really know what to do about it now. I don't want to pressure him, not after all he's already been through…"

"I know. But perhaps this is one point we should help him with, since he feels he cannot talk to either one of us."

Before they ever had a chance to bring it up with the Potions Master, a frantic Tonks rushed into Hogwarts early one morning.

"ALBUS! ALBUS! I…he…Remus…" she collapsed unto a chair, crying, a piece of parchment clutched in one hand.

"Nymphadora? What is the matter?" Dumbledore asked, shocked.

Sobbing, she held out the bit of parchment.

'_Miss Tonks,_

_If you and your precious Order wish to see the werewolf alive again, then have Potter and the traitor meet me at Diagon Alley, one week from today, at 6 pm precise. The street must be empty. If you do not comply, I will start sending the werewolf back in little pieces.'_

The short letter was signed with a Dark Mark.

Dumbledore paled and sighed.

"Yes, this is Tom's handwriting. I'm so sorry Nymphadora. I will call the Order immediately for a meeting."

"But Albus! Six pm next week, that's like, an hour before the full moon," she sobbed, "if we go, we will get back a fully transformed werewolf."

Dumbledore patted her hair. "We will do our best to save him, child, you know that."

"So this is the situation. Any suggestions?"

The whole room buzzed with people shouting ideas, ranging from bizarre rescue missions to just allowing the werewolf to die…though they did not say it in those terms exactly.

Severus shivered.

Harry looked thoughtful, though pale at the news of his godfather's abduction.

"What are you thinking, Harry?" Tonks asked.

"Well, I was thinking two things. The first is that it might be best to await the confrontation in Diagon Alley; they won't hurt him before then and WE have plenty of time to prepare the scene, Voldemort doesn't. I was also wondering if I could mindlink with a werewolf," Harry said, "to keep him calm."

Severus nodded. "That would probably work, Harry. But it would take all of your concentration so you can't focus on Voldemort. I'm the only one with enough experience to do it; let me mindlink with Lupin so you can take on Voldemort if that is necessary. I will Apparate with Lupin to a safe location and then return to help you."

Harry looked at him. "That means you will have to face him, Severus. Can you do that?"

Dumbledore covered his eyes.

"I can do that, Harry. It needs to be done. Albus and Draco aren't experienced enough yet. We can't let Remus be hurt, and we can't let him hurt anyone else. We will need to evacuate the Alley, completely. They will probably gather in Knockturn Alley, so we should pay extra attention to the entry to it."

Tonks nodded, comforted. "Thank you, Severus," she said.

Bill and Arthur were already planning the evacuation with the twins, and decided to set up a field office in the apartment above their shop.

The meeting was adjourned and the members rushed out, having lots to prepare for.

"Severus," Dumbledore said, "child, we need to talk."

The Potions Master, already on his way out, turned, the doorknob still in his hand.

"We have nothing to talk about," he said coolly, "what would there be?"

The headmaster hesitated. "Severus, I know how you feel about Remus…"

Severus' face became a stone mask. "He is a member of the Order. I will do what needs to be done."

"Severus, please!"

The mask slipped and was replaced by an angry and hurt expression. "So now you want to talk about it? After telling me to keep my silence for years? Now that you fear I might endanger Remus with my feelings towards him?"

"NO! I didn't mean to imply that! I only wanted…"

"You want to make sure your werewolf is safe. Don't worry, I know I can link with him, and if not, I will not harm him in any way, only restrain him until I can get him to safety."

Harry interrupted softly. "That's not what he meant, Severus. I'm worried too, and I know you are capable of doing this."

"He is your godfather, of course you are worried," Severus dismissed.

"No, Severus," Harry said, standing in front of the man, "obviously I worry about Remus. But I care about you, too. I'm worried it may be too much for you, to face Remus in his werewolf form again."

"I've handled it twice before, and I did fine. Now if you excuse me, I have training to do."

He left the room and soon Harry's wards told him he had arrived back at the mansion.

"Stubborn as a mule," Harry said, "but I can't blame him. He will keep Remus safe, headmaster, don't worry. And after this is over, you can try to talk to him about this. You won't get anything out of him when he's in this mood."

He got up. "I have training to do, too. Voldemort will show up in person, and I want to be ready."


	16. Chapter 16

**Author writes like a maniac, hoping to appease readers who have admittedly been forced to wait for an update for over a week.**

Harry and Severus circled each other in the training room. They had been training for two days, wanting to be in top condition for the coming confrontation. Harry had spied a little more on Voldemort, which was much easier now that Severus was helping him, and discovered Remus was indeed alive. He had been beated up a bit when captured, but otherwise was left alone for the time being and reasonably well taken care of.

"Ouch, Sev, that hurt."

"Good. You let your mind wander. Complete concentration, please."

"Ok, ok…"

Severus wiped his brow. Even when distracted, Harry was a lethal opponent.

"Why haven't you lectured me yet on my refusal to talk to Dumbledore?" he asked.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Do I lecture you that often? It is between you and Albus, and I do understand why you acted like that."

Severus ducked to avoid Harry taking him out, and with his mind picked up a sword.

"No, you never lectured me, only advised me," he admitted, "but this is your godfather we are talking about. I would understand it if you pestered me about it."

"I trust you," Harry said simply, ducking the swing of the blade and holding up his hand, catching the hilt, "the only thing that worries me is that you have to face Remus again as a werewolf. Remus is important to me, but so are you. You are the only person I ever wanted to impress."

Severus raised an eyebrow and threw a javelin at Harry. "Me? We hated each other."

Harry jumped aside and sent the javelin right back. "Exactly. I may have hated you, but you never treated me like anything special, like the others did. No sane adult would expect an eleven year old to face Voldemort. Everyone had such high expectations of me. You didn't expect anything unreasonable, and I think that's why I wanted to impress you."

Severus caught the Javelin and banished it back to the weapon rack. "I know. You had to do things no one had a right to expect from you. But, I'm very impressed with you, Harry. I always was, I just didn't want to show it. When you drove away all those Dementors in your third year…after I stopped ranting about it, I realised you did something previously unheard of."

Harry levitated himself into the air. "I'm sorry we stunned you. It must have been very difficult for you to come and save us."

Severus followed him into the air and threw up a shield as Harry bombarded him with powerful stunners.

"It was. I was so mad at Albus and Remus for endangering students like that. Even though you should not have been out that night…"

"That was an ACCIDENT. We only wanted to see Hagrid before Buckbeak was executed. Sirius dragged Ron into the shack, breaking his leg in the process. Idiot."

"Did you just call your Godfather an idiot?" Severus smirked, putting more power in the shield to keep it up.

"Well, I loved him dearly, but he never did grow up. Reckless as when he was a teen, and without consideration for others. I can see now that in many ways, he was incredibly juvenile."

"True. He really was devoted to you, though. But I must admit, however much Remus scares me by being the werewolf that almost killed me, he is much more mature. Well, despite his lapse in judgement in your third year, but I guess that's to be expected. He apologised to me later, in Grimmauld place. I know I should never have gotten him fired, but I was so scared."

Harry sent a huge blast and broke through Severus' shield, catching the man before he could fall or slam into a wall and hurt himself.

"It's not the amount of power you sent into the shield, it's how you use it. You can more or less configure it to suit the spell that's sent to you. It will save energy. Is the Shrieking Shack what drove you to Voldemort?"

Severus got up from the floor and experimented with the shield as Harry had advised.

"More or less. I think I wouldn't have if I had been allowed to talk about it. And if the Marauders had been told to back off. But instead they tormented me about not being allowed to talk to anyone, while I was sleep deprived from having nightmares about it every night…Hey! I wasn't going to talk to you about it."

Harry smiled slightly. "Sparring is an excellent opportunity to talk. Let's get this straight, Severus. I loved Sirius. I love Remus, who has been the perfect godfather to me since Sirius died. But I am not blind to their faults and I care a lot about you. I certainly won't forbid you to talk about what happened in the Shack…twice. You can be angry at Sirius, at Remus, at my Dad, and at me, we do deserve that. It means a lot to me that after all you've been through, you still volunteered to help Remus this way. I consider you my best friend, Severus, and if there's anything bothering you, I want to know so I can help you."

Severus snorted. "I'm not angry with you. You were thirteen, and did what you thought was best. I wasn't very receptive either. You grew up a lot, and I'm proud to call you my friend now. I'm terrified of Remus, but I'm not really angry anymore. Your father and Sirius are dead. The only one I'm angry with about all this is Albus."

"You know you can tell him that," Harry said, as he summoned a trunk.

"Why would I?"

"He would listen now."

"Exactly. Now. You were a child, Harry, with the weight of the world on your shoulders. And I made your life hell. I was the adult, and I should have known better. I'm glad you forgave me for that, by the way. Now imagine me as a child, having had a near death experience as a result of a prank, and a wizard over 100 years old, tells me to shut up about it. Even years later, when you came to Hogwarts, he would tell me to drop my lousy attitude towards the Marauders. He threw me in Azkaban because of a potion, but he wasn't under the influence of a potion all those years before. Back then, HE was the adult who should have known better."

Harry nodded, throwing up his own shield. "I guess with you everyone always knew what to expect, even if it wasn't good. But Dumbledore raised expectations and then dropped you like a rock. I guess it's no wonder you were a lousy teacher, you didn't exactly have the best of examples."

Severus sneered. "Why, thank you for this assessment of my teaching skills, Harry."

"Oh, you got better. You taught me a lot this year. But you have to admit that Neville, for instance, would have been better off with a more patient potions instructor. He managed alright once Hermione began to teach him in seventh year so he could take the NEWT."

"He passed his potions NEWT?" Severus asked in amazement.

"Yes he did. He needed it for his career as a Herbologist. He has his own business now and many of my ingredients come from his shop."

"I'm glad to hear it. Pomona always did brag about his abilities."

"Yes, he's gaining fame fast. Anyway, there's a Boggart in this trunk. I presume it will change into Remus' werewolf. I know you can't actually mindlink to a Boggart, but you can practice alternative ways of restricting him."

Severus took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm ready."

Harry opened the trunk, and out leapt a snarling werewolf, foam on its mouth, eyes fixed on the Potions Master, who raised a trembling hand.

It may be a werewolf, Harry thought, but it did have some characteristics of his godfather. The color of the fur, something in the shape of the eyes and nose, reminded him of Remus.

From the corner of his eye he saw Dumbledore enter, and pale at the sight of the werewolf.

Something was wrong. Severus seemed paralysed with fear. His face was pale and sweaty and he didn't make a move to stop the wolf at all.

Harry was debating whether or not to interfere when Severus finally managed to reach his magic and thrust it out, binding the wolf's legs and muzzling it. Then he walked up to it and touched it.

"A-apparate to the cellar room here," he said, shaking all over.

"Riddikulus," Harry said, banishing the Boggart, "are you ok, Sev?"

"N..No, I don't think so…but I will be. I did it, didn't I?"

Dumbledore walked towards them and gently put a hand on the still shaking shoulder. Severus flinched and shrugged the hand off quickly, glaring at the headmaster.

"Child…" the headmaster began, trying to catch the Potions Masters eyes, but Severus turned away.

"Go away. I don't need another lecture on why I should let go of my feelings towards your Golden Gryffindors," he said harshly, trying to wipe the sweat from his face.

"Severus, I'm not…"

"GO AWAY!" Severus yelled, "Isn't it enough that I have to go through this? I'm WORKING on it, ok? I will save him, for Harry! Do you have to come taunt me while I'm training too?"

Harry fully expected Dumbledore to either leave or start reproaching the younger wizard, but instead, the headmaster walked up to Severus and grabbed his shoulders, firmly turning him around.

"Look at me. LOOK AT ME!" he yelled in the man's face, "Look into my eyes. I won't throw up any defences. Look into my mind if you won't believe my words."

The angry man tried to free himself from the tight grip, but the headmaster held on, finally catching his eyes.

Harry, still mindlinked with Severus, was drawn into the headmasters mind as well before he realised what was happening and broke the link, but the one peek he got was enough to see that Dumbledore was sincere. He was truly sorry for how he treated Severus, and while he was still fond of Harry's father and godfathers, as well as of Harry himself, his mind showed beyond a shadow of doubt that only Severus held the place of a son in his heart.

Severus relaxed, but didn't break the connection. Instead, Harry saw him opening his own mind. Harry had a good idea what he was showing the old wizard, and his suspicions were confirmed when Dumbledore shuddered and paled.

"Haunted by Marauders and werewolves," Severus said softly, "Years of spying and torture. Being thrown in Azkaban. I love you too, but you keep expecting too much of me. It can't all be right suddenly. I haven't been happy at any time in my life. Living here with Harry this past year could qualify as 'happy' if I didn't have Azkaban and all the other junk to work through, not to mention worrying about defeating Voldemort. If you can't live with that, sir, if you can't accept that I will be going back and forth between getting better and having relapses for probably many years to come, I will understand. I believe you, your mind can't lie, but I don't want you to stay out of guilt or pity."

Dumbledore snorted before drawing the dark head to his shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous, child."

Severus sighed and briefly closed his eyes before pulling back. "Speaking of Riddikulus," he smiled slightly, "we should probably try this again."

They practised with the Boggart for another hour until Severus could face it without freezing up again.

"Do you think you can manage?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Severus said, waving his hand to summon a drink of juice, "it all depends on the mindlink. If that works, I can get him out of there easily and without any risk. But should that fail, I now know I can handle it."

Diagon Alley was emptied. So was Knockturn Alley. Hit wizards had taken their places, hidden on top of buildings. Dumbledore and the others chosen to fight –Harry had insisted only the most experienced warriors joined them- were hidden inside shops. Harry and Severus would enter Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron, appearing to be alone. They doubted Voldemort would believe it, but it did give them an advantage. They wore battle gear, and appeared to have no wands with them. Harry did have his, as it might be an advantage to have the brother wand of Voldemort's at some point, hidden in the secret pocket of his pants, but Severus hadn't bothered bringing his.

5.45 pm

"Remember, shield first, mindlink later," Harry whispered through the corner of his mouth.

"Yes, yes, I do remember, thank you," Severus said impatiently, and more then a little nervous.

"Are they here yet?"

"No, not yet. No signs of them in Knockturn Alley either."

5.50 pm

"Death Eaters have begun to Apparate to Knockturn Alley. They have hidden inside the shops. Fred and George are sneaking around, locking up as many as they can," Draco reported through his mindlink with Harry.

5.55 pm

"Tonks is about to have a fit. He better be here quickly. If this continues, I will have to pull her out of the battle and send her back to Hogwarts to wait. She might not be stable enough."

"Do what you think is necessary to keep her safe. Be careful, Draco, and break the mindlink as soon as Voldemort has entered Diagon Alley."

"I will. Good luck, guys."

5.59 pm

"It has begun. He is here. I'm breaking the link now. Go get 'em, Harry."

Voldemort entered Diagon Alley, surrounded by Death Eaters and Dementors, one of them dragging an exhausted Remus Lupin along on a silver chain.

"We are ready for you, Harry," he taunted.


	17. Chapter 17

"We are ready for you, Harry."

Remus groaned in pain as the silver chain around his wrists was yanked so he was on the floor in front of Voldemort.

"Your werewolf will transform soon, Harry. Shall I kill him before he transforms so he won't feel the pain of it? Alas, without our Potions Master, we couldn't get him any Wolfsbane to ease his suffering."

Harry and Severus entered Diagon Alley and walked up to Voldemort and his Death Eaters, coming to a halt 30 feet away from them.

"Here we are, Tom," Harry said calmly.

Remus started to yelp in pain, hair sprouting all over his body. The transformation had begun.

Everyone, Death Eaters included, watched the werewolf as his body lengthened, his face looked like it was being stretched until it had the wolfish snout.

Finally, after panting heavily for a minute, the werewolf scrambled to his feet, breaking the chain, and snarling angrily at everyone around him.

"Avada…" Voldemort began, but suddenly he doubled over in pain.

"Master! What is wrong?" the Death Eaters rushed to his side.

Severus concentrated. Throwing up an invisible shield around both him and the wolf, he set to work on creating the mindlink.

He put aside his fears and extended his mind to the werewolf. Pushing through the wolfish mind, who was furious at the invasion, he found the remains of the human Remus far back in the corner of the mind.

"Remus?"

"Severus?" a shaky voice asked, "how…how is this…?"

"I'm going to mindlink with you, Remus. That will allow you to take control of the wolf. Ok?"

"O..ok," he heard.

As he linked his mind to Remus' the human awareness expanded, forcing the wolf aside, and slowly they gained control.

"Thank you, Severus," Remus said, much stronger now.

"I need you to walk to me," Severus let him know, "I will stay linked to you and apparate us to a safe cellar in Harry's dungeons. You can wait there for the battle to end."

"NO! Stay linked to me, and I can fight along with you! I can control the wolf now!"

Severus hesitated. "You are weakened and hurt. And I need to focus on the battle too, I can't do that when I need all of my concentration to stay linked to you. I know you want to fight, but if I let you stay I endanger both of us."

"Alright then," Remus said sadly, "I guess it's for the best. I just…like being in control."

Severus sighed.

"I know. Once this battle is over, I'll link to you again and will remain so until the full moon is gone, I promise. Please, walk over to me and let me apparate you."

"Is Tonks alright?"

"Besides frantic with worry about you? Yes. She is in Knockturn Alley, securing the Death Eaters there."

Voldemort watched in amazement when the wolf didn't attack anyone. It simply stood there for long moments until taking a shaky step forwards. And another one. It advanced upon the Potions Master and Voldemort smirked. He would let the creature finish off the traitor. How ironic, that Snape would be killed by the very creature he feared the most.

Harry didn't do a thing. Probably torn between saving his godfather and saving the traitor.

But when the werewolf reached Severus, the man touched the fur and they apparated away. Harry grinned.

"Sorry Tom. Had to get my godfather to a safe location. You know how he gets at this time of the month. Such a temper."

Voldemort roared in anger, and sent a curse to Harry, who easily ducked it.

"Take out your wand, Potter, and let's see who's the best here!"

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Oops," he said, "I seem to have forgotten my wand. Do you mind much?"

"ACCIO POTTERS WAND!" Voldemort yelled.

Nothing happened.

"I can't believe it," one of the Death Eaters crowed, "he came unarmed!"

"I forgot my WAND but I never said anything about being unarmed," Harry pouted.

"See?" he raised his hand and sent a Stunner to the Death Eater, who dropped like a brick.

The others recoiled.

"Wandless Magic," they whispered.

Harry sighed. "Honestly. Anyway, now that my Godfather is safe…and Severus has returned," he added, sensing the man apparating behind him, "we can begin this in earnest."

Dumbledore and Draco jumped from their places on the rooftops, standing besides Severus.

Harry's other five students led the Order division up from behind, surrounding Voldemort and his gang.

"Dementors, attack," Voldemort ordered coldly.

The Dementors swooped down on the foursome in front of them, but hesitated when they got no reaction from them whatsoever. No memories to drain. Nothing.

Draco and Severus raised their hands. Four Patroni soared through the air, driving the Dementors back, who then proceeded to attack the advancing Order.

They were slightly more successful there, most Order members weren't advanced enough in Occlumency to completely shield their mind. The five Weasleys however, were, and quickly sent their Patroni to chase the Dementors, who flew up and fled the Alley.

Harry nodded to the other three. They mindlinked to each other to work in perfect harmony.

Severus, Dumbledore and Draco began to attack the Death Eaters and their allies, as the Order behind them did the same.

Voldemort stayed out of the battle, shoving his followers forward to fight.

Even the best of his Death Eaters couldn't beat the five Weasleys, let alone Harry and his friends.

But Voldemort had not come with only Death Eaters. When the battle seemed nearly over, and most Death Eaters had been restricted, Ron suddenly looked to the sky and cried: "DRAGONS!"

Seven Great Wyrms were flying above the Alley. Charlie shivered.

"HARRY! WYRMS! We can never take out one, let alone seven!" he cried.

Severus was just in time to shield the group of Order members when one of the Dragons swooped down and breathed fire towards them.

Dumbledore nearly fainted when he saw another Dragon following, intent on taking out Severus.

Quickly he focused and shielded Severus. He groaned under the strain of keeping up the shield as the Dragons continued their attack.

Voldemort smirked as all Dragons pounced on the Order.

Harry closed his eyes.

"Protect the others," he said to his friends, "I'm going to talk to them."

The sensation of three very shocked people swept over his mind, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Who is your leader?" he hissed in Parseltongue at the Dragons.

"You speak the language of snakes, hatchling?" one of the Dragons sneered, although he couldn't hide his surprise.

"I do. I know you understand this language even if it is not your own. I understand that it is a great insult to speak in the Dragon tongue without permission. I can however speak your language, and I seek your approval to use it."

The tallest Dragon stopped his attack and turned to Harry.

"I grant permission," he said in the Dragon language, "how do you know our language, hatchling?"

"Norbert taught me, a friend of mine and Hagrid's."

"We know Norbert. He visited us sometimes. He told us of Hagrid. It is because of him that we are here. The snakelike one," the Dragon gazed briefly at Voldemort, "he told us you have mistreated Hagrid, the one who loves Dragons."

Harry hissed in anger. "We have not! Hagrid is our friend, every single one of us holds him in high esteem. In fact, he is nearby, defending the Alley next to this one, fighting on our side. The snakelike one will kill him if he gets the chance, which I do not intent to give him."

The Dragon looked at his companions. One of them flew off, returning half a minute later.

"You speak the truth. We did not know this. We will stop our attack and return to our lairs."

"I thank you for your understanding. I have ordered my companions not to hinder your departure."

"Farewell, hatchling. If fate is so inclined, we may meet again one day."

Harry breathed in relief when the Dragons flew off, but Voldemort was enraged.

"YOU! You filthy halfbreed, you son of a mudblood!"

Harry snorted and turned to him. "Those are not insults to me, Tom, only to you. And why do you try to insult me with something that applies to you as well?"

His shields were up, and he focused all his power.

"He is going to throw the Killing Curse," he sent to his friends, "I need you to help me. Help me strengthen my shields!"

Draco, Severus and Dumbledore all stood behind him, putting their hands on his shoulders and back, joining their powers with his own.

Voldemort's face contorted with anger and confusion as he saw the unlikely group of people band together, but his rage clouded his judgement.

"Avada…"

"Hold on, guys, hold on," Harry implored.

"Kedavra!"

The green light sped towards them. Draco, Dumbledore and Severus felt their magic being drawn from them as Harry used it to configure and reinforce the shield.

They watched in amazement as the green light collided with the shield and tried to push through. They felt Harry tremble as he focused completely on the shields, and finally managed to absorb the energy of the curse into them.

Then he took the energy and reformed it. The green glow turned white.

Sweat dripping off his face, Harry gathered all of his power and turned the now white light around, making it shoot back to Voldemort.

When the Dark Wizard was hit with it, his eyes flew open in surprise. With an agonizing scream he fell.

The white light surrounded Voldemort, and then a black cloud started to rise from his prostrate form.

The two mingled in a strange spiral, light and dark, each trying to gain the upper hand.

Harry dropped to his knees, grabbed his wand and pointed it at the spiral, and channeled his power and that of his friends through it.

The Alley shook with the powerful Phoenix song as the light was strengthened and wrapped around the Dark. Within minutes, the Dark was destroyed.

Voldemorts body convulsed, and then he let out his last breath.

Immediately his body began to disintegrate, until only ash was left. With his last bit of energy, Harry waved his hand and the wind rose, dispersing the ash to all corners of the country.

In the ringing silence that followed, Harry smiled to his friends.

"Thank you," he said, exhausted, before collapsing into Severus' arms.

**A/N As you can see, I didn't follow the canon Horcrux storyline for this story. Also, I borrowed the term 'Great Wyrm' from Dungeons and Dragons. Dunno why. I just liked it. Great Wyrms are the oldest of Dragons, hence their referral to Harry as 'hatchling'. In their eyes, he is no more then a baby.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N For those of you telling me I made a mistake in having Harry use his wand in the last chapter; reread the end of chapter 16. Harry DID bring his wand. He just lied to Voldemort about it, and he is obviously powerful enough not to let Voldemort summon his wand from him.**

"Will he be ok?" Ron and Hermione asked.

"Yes, he will be fine," Draco answered, a slightly cold tone to his voice. He had not forgotten that Ron never trusted him and tried to discredit him with the Order at every opportunity.

Hermione smiled at him.

"You were incredible, all four of you," she said in awe.

Draco's face softened, and they could clearly see how tired he was now.

"Harry did the bulk of the work."

"Not just against Voldemort. Dumbledore and Snape against those Dragons…I thought for sure we were finished," Ron shivered.

Draco nodded. "They had been tricked by Voldemort. When they realized that Hagrid was on our side, they wouldn't do us any harm. Excuse me, I have to check on Harry again and drag Albus and Severus off to get them to eat and sleep."

Draco apparated to Harry's mansion. Knowing how much he detested the hospital wing at Hogwarts, they had brought him back there. Severus had, despite his exhaustion, immediately mindlinked with Remus again like he had promised. The werewolf was curled up in a locked room, fast asleep, after Draco had treated the wounds on his paws.

He found Severus and Albus at Harry's bedside.

"He is completely drained, but not in danger," Draco said softly, "we need to eat and sleep as well. He will be fine. Dobby can watch over him and warn us if anything happens."

Severus looked up. He pushed up his sleeve and showed Draco his left forearm. No Dark Mark.

"He took it off. The other Death Eaters still have a faint mark, to recognize them, but he took mine off completely. Idiot boy," he growled affectionately.

"Severus, get some sleep. Albus, you too. I've told Tonks that Remus is ok, and that she can come here in the morning when he has transformed back into his human form. You can maintain the link while you sleep. Don't make me call Dobby!"

That helped. Severus reluctantly got up, not wanting the fierce house elf on his case. He called him.

"Dobby, we need something to eat and then we need to rest, too. Can you look after Harry tonight?"

Dobby nodded approvingly. "Professor is very wise, getting sleep. Dobby has already put some food in the kitchen. Dobby will look after Harry."

"Thanks, Dobby."

Harry stirred. The last he remembered was Diagon Alley and the fall of Voldemort, but he doubted he was there now; whatever he was lying on felt way to comfortable to be the cobbled road of Diagon Alley.

He opened his eyes slowly. His own bedroom.

Ah.

Severus must have taken him home.

The Savior of the Wizarding World nearly died of a heart attack the day after defeating Voldemort when Dobby's face suddenly popped up two inches from his own.

"MERLIN DOBBY!" Harry yelled, "Don't DO that!"

Dobby's eyes filled with tears.

"Dobby is sorry, Dobby didn't mean to…"

Harry, heart still pounding in his throat, threw an arm around the creature.

"'S ok Dobby, you just scared me, that's all. Sorry I yelled at you."

Dobby calmed down and looked at Harry.

"Is yous be feeling alright?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, just feeling a bit drained, but that'll pass. Did Severus bring me here? Is Voldemort really gone, then?"

Dobby nodded in awe. "Harry Potter and the professor and the headmaster and Draco all defeated him! Harry Potter collapsed, but professor Snape brought him back home. They is all still sleeping now."

"Not very likely, with Harry yelling like that," Severus sneered from the doorway, still dressed in his pyjamas, followed by Draco and Albus, also still in nightclothes.

Harry looked at them and fought against his tears.

"He…he is really gone…" he whispered.

"Yes, he is," Albus said, sitting next to him on the bed and gathering him in his arms.

"You were wonderful, my boy. It's all over now."

Harry clung to Albus for a moment, sighing deeply.

"I guess the Ministry is going nuts over the paperwork, right?" he joked.

They all chuckled a bit.

"How many did we lose?" Harry asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Not that many. The Weasleys did a marvelous job leading the Order. A lot of the Death Eaters that apparated into shops in Knockturn Alley were locked up and captured by Fred and George before they even had a chance to fight. It's just…"

Draco hesitated. "Fred was hit by a few nasty curses, Harry, while he shielded a group of our younger members from the Dragons. He is in St Mungo's. They are…they don't think he will ever wake up from his coma."

Harry paled. "If Fred dies…George…"

They lowered their eyes, knowing it was unlikely that those two could survive without one another.

Harry jumped out of bed. "I have to go there."

"You are drained, Harry! You can't do anything for him."

Harry glared defiantly at Severus. "Watch me," he said.

Quickly pulling on his robes, he prepared to Apparate. "Coming?" he asked, "I might need your help."

St Mungo's was crowded. Many people had sustained injuries during the final battle and were being treated there.

They met Arthur in the foyer, looking pale and exhausted. His eyes were red rimmed.

"Harry," he said, trying to smile, "You four were wonderful. Thank you."

Harry smiled back. "I want to try to help Fred, Arthur."

For a moment, a flash of hope brightened the man's face, but it quickly died out.

"I doubt there is much you can do for him, Harry. He is so severely wounded, and you are drained…they don't expect him to live until evening." Arthur nearly choked on tears as he eked out the last sentence.

"And George won't leave his side, he hasn't spoken to anyone, I am so afraid…"

Albus patted his shoulder.

"Take me there, anyway, Arthur?" Harry asked, "Let me at least try? We really have nothing to lose by trying, do we?"

Arthur composed himself and shook his head, leading them to a quiet room on the Spell Damage ward.

George was nearly glued to his brother, holding Freds hand and never taking his eyes off his twin. He didn't react when they entered, didn't even acknowledge he was aware of their presence.

Harry put his hand on Freds forehead, trying to sense the damage. He sighed.

"I can't do this on my own, I have the skill but not the energy. You are too drained, too. Arthur, I will need you and George to help me."

Arthur put a hand on his sons shoulder and shook him.

"George? Son, we need your help." No reaction.

"Let me, Arthur," Harry said, and called to George with his mind.

"George? George, can you hear me!"

A distant presence reacted. TWO distant presences.

"Harry, why are you…"

"not celebrating your victory?" the twins asked.

"FRED!" Harry exclaimed in surprise.

"George, actually," Fred said, "He is linked with me. We were always linked, from birth, you see. That's why…"

"we always do the twinspeak," George finished.

Harry shook his head. "I might have known," he said, "but that is besides the point right now. I need your help, George. I can heal Fred, but I drained myself too much yesterday, as did Albus, Severus and Draco. I need your father and you to help me."

"Can you heal Fred?" George asked, hopeful.

"I think I can, if Fred will cooperate," Harry explained.

Fred nodded. "Of course. I will do my best, Harry, but I couldn't help myself…"

"I know. You were great, Fred. Work with me, ok? George, I need you to come back for a while to help me."

"k," George said, and turned to his twin. "I'm gonna go with Harry for a bit, ok?"

Fred nodded.

Harry broke the link, and was relieved to see George stir and look up at him.

"What do I do?" he asked.

"You and Arthur put your hands on my shoulders. I will need to draw some of your magic, as I don't have enough of mine left. Ready?"

Harry focused, and started to draw the magic of the other two. He tried to use as much of his own as possible, but it wasn't nearly enough. Fortunately, Arthur and George didn't have that problem.

Freds body was very damaged by the curses, and Harry knew he had to heal that first. Fred could not return to his body only to drop back into a coma because of the pain. Fortunately, healing the physical damage wasn't the hardest part.

Then Harry sighed and took a deep breath before pushing his magic into Freds mind, working on showing him the way back. He felt that George's presence was vital in this; Fred reacted to his magic more then even that of his father.

Finally, after agonizing minutes, Harry was successful. Fred slowly opened his eyes. George slumped against Harry in exhaustion before grabbing his twin's hand.

Arthur just stood there, stroking his sons hair with happy, slightly wet eyes.

Harry smiled slightly.

"You don't happen to have an energy potion with you, do you, Sev?" he asked.

"Matter of fact I have," the potions master smirked.

Invigorated by the potion, Harry left Fred to his family members and walked into the hall. He heard a cry.

Tonks and Remus approached them. Before Severus knew what was happening, Tonks had launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him on both cheeks.

Harry and Draco were nearly rolling on the floor with laughter at the horrified look on Severus' face.

Albus was pressing a hand against his mouth to quell the sound of his own laughter, without much success.

"Nymphadora Tonks! Kindly unhand me!" Severus said with a truly awful glare at the two teens.

"Thank you so much for saving him," Tonks said, and Severus looked ready to faint when she started sobbing on his shoulder.

Remus, grinning slightly, peeled her off the Potions Master, letting her cry on his own shoulder, and extended his hand to Severus.

"Thank you, Severus. I owe you my life, and probably the life of many others had you not helped me…I don't even want to think about what could have happened had I gotten loose in the Alley…"

Severus reluctantly shook his hand, still glaring at Tonks, and noticed that Remus' wrists were still bandaged.

"I can make an ointment for silver burns," he said stiffly, "Come by later, I'll have some ready for you."

He expression was downright murderous when Tonks wrestled herself free from Remus and hugged him again.

Remus smiled and pushed her towards the exit, turning around to whisper, "Don't worry, I'll leave her at home," to Severus with a decidedly Marauderish smirk.

Cleaning up after the final battle took several days. The Death Eaters that had survived were swiftly tried and sent to Azkaban, where most of them took their own lives within weeks, having no Dark Lord to look up to and having no wish to try to atone for their crimes.

A week after the final battle, Harry, Severus, Draco and Albus were sitting together in the garden of Harry's mansion.

"So," Harry said, staring at a couple of butterflies.

"Indeed," Severus sighed.

Draco only nodded slowly. Albus looked at them, an eyebrow raised.

Severus smiled slightly at him.

"Our lives always revolved around Voldemort, Albus. Harry's life in particular."

Harry drew up his knees.

"I have been so completely focused on destroying Voldemort. That has been my job, my destiny, since before I was born. It's all I know, and now it is gone. I know it sounds weird, but I feel…empty somehow. Lacking purpose."

Albus plucked a daisy that grew in the grass.

"I now, my boys. I've been fighting Voldemort…well, not all my life, but the last half century of it. But there is always something else to focus on, you just have to find it…"

"Don't you mean, 'we', father?" Severus said, worried.

Albus chuckled and patted his shoulder. "I don't plan on dying yet, Severus. But I AM more then a century older then any of you. And I've always had a lot of responsibilities. I'm tired of those. I have decided to retire as headmaster and move to my own mansion, not far from here, to do the things I truly like, but had little time for all these years. I've always wanted to write books on various subjects; I may do that. If you want, Severus, you can come live with me. Behind the Mansion is a rather large unused lab complex; ideal for a Potions Master."

Severus perked up. "I've always wanted to have my own potions business, and train some talented apprentices…" he said, "and I've talked to Neville about him being my main supplier for ingredients. With the money the Ministry gave me in compensation for my Azkaban years, I could set it up properly…"

Draco looked at him. "I'm tired of the Ministry, Severus. I don't want to return there and Slytherin House still needs me. Can I apprentice with you? Bill Weasley wants to return to his former job as a Curse Breaker, but he is willing to stay on until I am trained enough to apply for the Potions position at Hogwarts."

Harry smiled sadly. "I see you are all leaving me," he said.

Severus smirked. "And for good reasons, Harry. I have to leave here soon, and I am selling Snape Mansion; too many bad memories. I need a place to stay."

Harry's eyes widened. "But…why?"

With a broad smile, Severus pulled him up and rested his hands on Harry's shoulders.

"Because you have to make Remus happy," he teased, "you know, settle down and produce offspring. So I decided to help him with that particular mission in life."

He turned Harry around to face the house.

"HARRY!" A small redhaired girl flew down the terrace steps and across the lawn.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, then he set off running to meet her.

"GINNY!"

The other three looked at each other and then quickly looked away as they detected the glistening of tears in each others eyes as Harry spun Ginny around, all five of them enjoying the first carefree and completely happy moment in many, many years.

**That's the end, folks! Epilogue following soon.**


	19. Epilogue

**A/N It's over now. I feel kinda sad, really, but glad for all the encouraging reviews I got while writing this story. But I have many new ideas for stories already. And I promised Debs that I would write another Harry/Severus friendship story sometime soon. Thanks everyone!**

EPILOGUE Five years later "Hello Harry." 

Harry grinned widely at the two men that Apparated into his mansion.

He hugged Severus, and accepted a friendly pat on his back from Albus.

"How is Ginny?"

"Couldn't be better."

Two four year olds came running into the room

"Uncle Severus! Grandpa Albus!"

Severus caught the little boy while Albus sat down to allow the girl to climb on his lap.

"Hello James," Severus said, "how are you?"

"Great, Uncle Severus! I can read a whole chapter of 'Charlie and the Dragons' on my own now!"

"That is adequate, James, I am pleased with your progress."

The boy, used to his Uncle's formal style of speech, grinned widely and traded places with his sister to receive his share of his Grandpa's lemon drops.

"Uncle Severus, I accidentally made Daddy's broom sing," the girl confessed.

Severus stroked the black hair. "At your age, such incidents of accidental magic are normal, Lily. I'm sure your father could reverse your charm without overexerting himself."

"Yes, but he was on it, playing with Fred and George," Lily said, a mischievous grin on the small face.

Harry snorted. "Accidental my…" he quickly checked his language, "Sometimes I think they know exactly what they are doing when they have these incidents," he tickled his daughter, who squirmed, and raised one eyebrow. Something she learned from her Uncle Severus.

"And now you have three little Marauders running around," Severus said, smirking.

Harry beamed. "Yes, although the little one won't be running around yet. Do you want to go up to see them?"

Both men nodded.

Harry and Ginny had married soon after the fall of Voldemort, and the twins were born barely a year later. James and Lily had their father's green eyes, but James inherited his mothers red hair, while Lily had the jet black hair of her father.

And now, four years after the twins, Ginny had given birth to a second son.

Albus and Severus entered the bedroom with Harry, a bit nervous.

"Oh come on. Surely you're not more afraid of a little baby then you were of Voldemort," Harry said, pushing them forward. Albus beamed at Ginny, who was sitting in bed with the baby in her arms, and Severus awkwardly kissed her cheek.

"He is lovely, children," Albus said, touching the baby's head, "what's his name?"

"Sirius, I bet," Severus said, smiling slightly.

It had taken him a lot of time, and eventually some professional help, to work through his past, but he was now able to utter the names of his one time school nemeses without sneering, also for the sake of Harry's children, who were named after their grandparents.

He still shared a mansion with Albus, who had managed to write several well received books over the past years, but was now clearly getting on in years. Still powerful, he felt old age beginning to take it's toll. At about the same time as the twins were born, he had named Severus his son and heir, after considerable protest of the heir himself, who at that point still felt unworthy of any kindness bestowed upon him.

Neville and Severus' business arrangements had proven very profitable, and Severus had finally found his place in life, as well as, eventually, his peace of mind.

"Has Draco been by yet? Or couldn't he leave his potions classes?"

"No, you two are the first to see him, after Arthur who came by before work this morning. But his name is not Sirius," Harry said, smiling nervously. Ginny nodded at him encouragingly.

"I loved my godfather, but I can't inflict another James and Sirius duo on Hogwarts," he joked. "No. We decided to name him after our best friend. His name is Severus. Severus Arthur Potter."

Severus' eyes widened in surprise and his mouth fell open.

He turned around for a second to hide the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes entirely without his approval.

Albus patted his back.

"Do you want to hold him?" Ginny asked.

Nodding mutely, Severus carefully took the baby in his arms. Black hair covered the head, and a tiny hand took a surprisingly strong hold of his finger.

He stared at the baby.

"Thank…thank you, Harry," he said hoarsely, "and you, Ginny."

The man who had prided himself in never engaging in sentimental actions, pressed a gently kiss on the baby's soft head, and whispered, "Welcome, to a long and happy life…Severus."


End file.
